Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s off to the gym I go
When children leave for college, some parents leave their kids’ rooms untouched, in pristine condition, so when they come back for the holidays or during summer vacation, it’s the same as they left it (without the piles of clothes on the floor, of course). But not us.
When little m went off to college, Miiko cleaned it out and moved all her stuff into the smallest bedroom, and turned her much bigger old room into a mini-home gym. That was in November, and incidentally, that was the last time we actually visited our regular gym. Why drive two miles to the gym when I can just walk across the hall from my home office and work out? When little m came home for the holidays last fall, and Miiko broke the news to her, I remember her saying in an annoyed tone of voice, “Uh, mo-ooom? Some parents leave their children’s rooms the same. Forever!”
Some do. But not us!
Her room is prime real estate. Two rooms, actually. A regular room with several steps that lead up to a second, octagon-shaped room, just big enough to fit her bed. Sunny. The highest point in the house. A princess in her castle. I would have been annoyed, too.
But now it was our gym. And we used it regularly. Months ticked by. Every month, our regular gym deducted our membership fees. We considered canceling our memberships, but in the back of my mind, I was going to go back. You know, next week. Some day. Real soon. (more…)
Dog Days of Summer
Last week, I strolled into PetSmart on a whim and walked out $21 poorer with a cute, little, round dog bed cradled in my arms. One of our miniature pinschers likes to sleep near my desk in my home office, even as I’m typing away into the wee hours, and for a dog that loyal, it should be rewarded with a comfy bed to sleep in.
I showed it to my wife. “OK. But the dog doesn’t really need it,” she says, as she pauses for a second for dramatic effect. “I know it’s really for you.”
Hmph.
This weekend, she calls me from the esthetics, cosmetics and spa conference in Las Vegas, and says: “Guess what I just bought from the show floor? Organic toothpaste for the dogs!”
Ah, I haven’t even begun to give her grief.
