Garbage Day - A unique family tradition

While I was growing up, my dad began a family tradition that has been transferred to my family. Every garbage day Dad would take out the trash and hop and skip around and say, "its garbage day!" Not only that, but he would ask as he put us to bed, "do you know what tomorrow is?" "Its GARBAGE DAY!"


When we moved to Ponca City, we found that garbage day was a little different here than it was anywhere else we had lived. There is an alleyway behind the houses where the garbage truck drives along and picks up trash so it isn't in front of the houses. Our garbage man comes twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday. He usually comes around 8 am. When Aubrey hears the garbage truck as she is waking up she will scream, "Mom!! Mom!!! Its the garbage man!!!" Then we will grab Heidi (who is now officially awake) and run to the window. The garbage man isn't here yet, but we watch the dogs next door to see how close he is. The dogs run back and forth along the back fence barking and wagging their tails. As the truck gets closer, the dogs stop running and just bark their heads off. We then know that the garbage man is near. Then finally, its our turn. The man gets off the back of the truck, lifts the lid on the can, dumps the contents into the back of the truck and puts the lid back on. (We really like that last touch!) Sometimes the driver will help out if there is a lot of trash and sometimes he yells at the trash guy if he forgets to put the lid on. Then the truck pulls out of the alley into the street and we hear it rumble down the road stopping and going intermittently as they empty other trash cans. Then garbage day is over. It really has taken on almost absurd importance, but this tradition is an anchor in all of our lives - without the garbage man we'd just be a little lost - and a lot smelly.