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The Monday Morning Epistle |
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16 April 2007 |
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Before anyone starts accusing me of fraud, I've already contacted the professional photographer who took the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ pictures on Good Friday to ask why they haven't been posted to the St. Baldrick's web site yet. The best comment of the week, though, came from a woman at work that I see often enough to recognize, but not often enough to know her name: the first time we passed in the hallway after Easter, she stopped dead in her tracks and asked in a concerned voice “Oh my God, did you get deployed?” (Sure did, and don't tell anybody, but we're both actually in Iraq right now! As Bill Engvall would say “Here's your sign…”) With Easter come and gone, we expected that the worst of winter was behind us, so I bought half a shopping cart full of car-cleaning supplies, hoping to celebrate Spring by washing Kermit, Merel, and Polgara (the Kia, VW van, and Porsche) over the weekend. Fool. By Thursday afternoon, the word ‘blizzard’ was regularly appearing in the weather forecasts again, and when I stopped at the grocery store that evening, a store employee was assembling a display of brightly colored kiddy pools out front. The young man was obviously quite frustrated with his task, because he kept having to stop every few minutes and empty the newfallen snow out of them! Even though the worst of the storm missed us by a good 20-30 miles, the Gruesome Twosome still enjoyed what (hopefully) will be their last snow day of the 2006/2007 school year. I was surprised at how quickly the schools were closed, but Mary reminded me that back in January District 11 added half an hour to the school day in case of more snow, and this was probably their last chance to justify the decision. The best part was that Saturday and Sunday were bright and sunny—with highs in the 60's—so we didn't even have to shovel anything! Tuesday is ‘Trash Day’ for us, and while Jacob is responsible for emptying trash cans throughout the house, I empty the trash compactor in the kitchen because it's too heavy for him. I forgot to do this a week or so ago, and when Mary discovered my oversight, she started to grouse that it was going to overflow before the next trash day. When I retorted with some irritation “We have a great big empty trash can in the garage: when this gets full, I'll just put it in there!” we stared at each other for a split-second, then both burst out laughing. For years, we gathered up all the trash once a week—typically right before church every weekend—and (illegally) drove it to the dumpsters on Patch Barracks. The entire family became so programmed to this routine that even in our new home we continued to take out the trash only once a week: it literally never occurred to us that we could use the trash can in the garage any time we wanted to! (A few days later I emptied the trash compactor with a great ceremony…because it wasn't Trash Day!) KidBit: The ‘In Thing’ at Alex's high school are trendy sandals, and Alex was working really hard to convince us that his life would be improved if he owned a $40 pair of flip-flops. Exasperated with his insistence on one of the most expensive brands on the rack (and knowing full well how shabbily Alex treats his shoes) Mary challenged him with “How are you going to wear them?” He didn't even miss a beat before answering in an equally indignant tone “On my feet, Mom! Duh!” Anyone other than me remember this KidBit? 
PotW: I don't know if it's a ‘black cat thing’, but much like her predecessor Theo, Zoë is fascinated by bathwater. I waited patiently for several minutes, but she kept her footing on the slippery surface and didn't end up in the tub. (Maybe next time I won't stop Monkey-Boy from trying to splash her…)
2007.04.23-21:54 |