Win Some, Lose Some
Two bulging trash bags I could barely lift. That’s how much of my past I deposited in the dumpster this morning before ten o’clock.
Whether it had a memory attached to it or not, in the sack it went: wedding cards, madrigal dinner programs, Mediterranean travel catalogs, old baseball tickets (well, okay, I kept those). There comes a time where there just isn’t enough room left to store faded receipts from the Caribbean and long-expired bridal shower invitations. Felt good.
Halfway through this mess of history, I ran over to Schnucks for a pick-me-up. Blackberry Izzes – straight to the fridge – and Hershey’s. You know, flagging energy for rooting through all those stacks of mementos.
Puck was waiting at the front of the line again, soldiering his fellow sixteen classmates to the gym. He pointed to me as he walked by, feeling pretty important.
“See? Yeah, that’s my mom. Right there, see?”
I’m not sure his buddies were convinced, but they marched on behind the teacher anyway after a brief pause to stare.
When we got home the streets were rain-wet. Big white puffs of cloud rolled over us. I wasn’t sure where the drenching had come from, but more followed not long after dinner anyway. Rumbles and growls of thunder.
Rose burst through the front door with four sacks of groceries at 7:45, abundant snacks for movie night. Carrie wasn’t long behind her with a tower of unpacked boxes, mostly Amazon. Deliveries Rose had sent to the house.
It was Christmas in September, apparently. A fat Darth Vadar coffee mug for El Oso, Cardinals fleece blanket (hopefully will come in good hand for the postseason), and scented magic markers for Puck. We took turns sniffing them. Immediate memories of Sunday School in the 90s.
Joe walked in next to open his own deliveries also made to the house, including pepper spray for Jaya. El Oso shoveled his reheated pork chop and broccoli into a bowl, probably the worst broccoli I had ever seen, almost entirely stalks.
“Those are basically broccoli butts,” Rose determined.
Then, while the game began to tank in Milwaukee, we watched a Thai action film that was so bad, it prompted Rose – who has seen more movies than anyone I know – to say, “This is the worst movie I have ever seen.”