JOTTING IT DOWN

“I love the start of the New Year!” I said as I sat down on the couch next to my husband Steven. “A fresh start! New beginnings! It's all good!”

Steven laughed. “Are you talking about making some New Year's resolutions?”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “No. I'm talking about my new appointment book!” I held it up for him to see. Then grabbed my 2018 appointment book and pulled out a slip of paper from the back. “Now I get to jot down all the appointments I've been keeping on this.” I couldn't help but smile as I transferred the data. “I know it's old school and I should be using my phone calendar but there's just something about an appointment book.” I sighed. “I can't exactly pinpoint why I love it, but I do.”

Steven just shook his head and held up his hand. “Hey, you're preaching to the choir here. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost mine. Not only do I use it for appointments but I also have 'to do' lists and addresses I need to know.”

I looked over to him and smiled. “See, here's another reason we're perfectly matched! Our love for appointment books!”

While I was writing down the last of my future appointment my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID. “I have to take this.” I said as I got up to go in the other room. “It's my sister Liz.”

After our hello's she asked what we always ask each other at the beginning of our calls. “What are you up to today?” she asked.

“I'm filling in my new appointment book!” I was waiting for her to laugh at me because she's one of my more tech savvy sisters. Well, to be perfectly honest everyone in my family was more tech savvy then me considering I was still trying to figure out how to use some of the options on my phone. But I was pleasantly surprised when she said, “I love filling out my new appointment book too!”

“Really? I swear I would have thought you'd only use Google calendar on your phone.” I was genuinely surprised. “It never occurred to me that you'd be old school like me!”

“I use my phone for doctor's appointments and to remind me when someone's birthday's coming up but for everything else I use my little black date book.”

I couldn't help but smile as I realized Steven and I weren’t the only ones left in the world who still swore by ours. “I even keep my old ones.” I admitted.

“Me too!”

“Really?”

“Sure. I just went through mine before I packed them up to move. It's kind of fun seeing who you were meeting for dinner and the plans you had years ago.”

“It's like a mini diary.” I added.

After we'd touched on everything else that was happening in our lives we said our good-byes knowing we'd probably catch up again tomorrow.

I went back to the living room where Steven was still writing in his appointment book. “How's Liz?” he asked as he finished writing and put his book on the coffee table.

“She's great!” I sat down next to him. “I just found out she's old school too.”

Steven looked confused. “Old school?”

“She uses an appointment book just like we do.” I couldn't help but smile. “Now I don't feel as technically challenged as I did before.”

“Really?” Steven had to laugh. “Because you're pretty technically challenged.”

“Hey! If my sister still uses an old fashioned appointment book she can't be that technically advanced either!”

Steven looked surprised. “I wouldn't let her hear you say that. Didn't she just teach you how to print from your phone?”

I shrugged my shoulder. “Hey, who knew you could really do that from your phone?”

“Um...” he just shook his head. “I think everyone.”

SLEPT LIKE A BABY

My son Alex has had trouble sleeping since he was very little. He inherited that trait from his Dad, because I can sleep in the middle of the living room, with the television blasting and everyone walking around living their life, and not move a muscle.

But I'd just purchased a weighted blanket for him and now I was waiting for him to wake up and give me the good news. I was hoping he'd come out and tell me he slept through the night and couldn't wait to write a testimonial letter to the company thanking them for their miracle blanket.

I looked at the clock, it was already past 11 o'clock in the morning when I finally heard his door open.

I felt like it was Christmas morning I was so excited. “Well?” I asked.

“Eh...” Alex shrugged his shoulders. “It's too heavy to sleep with.”

“It's supposed to be heavy!” I cried. “That extra weight is what reduces your stress and helps you sleep better!”

“Well, my stress levels went up when I couldn't roll over!” Alex laughed as he shook his head. “I was fine when I was on my back but as soon as I went to go on my side I felt trapped!”

“I'm sorry.” I sighed. “I thought this would be the answer to your sleep problem.”

Alex came over and patted me on the back. “It's okay. It was nice that you tried.”

I shook my head. “When you look at the commercials they just drape it over the person and they practically fall asleep in the middle of eating a tuna sandwich!”

“You really didn't think it was going to be that magical, did you?”

I shook my head again. “No. But everyone I talk to that has one loves it!”

“I like mine.” Alex said. “I just can't use it at night. But I like it when I take a nap on my couch.”

I looked over at him confused. “We were trying to find something that would help you sleep though the night. Not something for napping.”

“Hey, aren't you the one who's always saying a quick nap before dinner is what helps you make it through the rest of the day?” He went into the kitchen to make some coffee.

I just shook my head while I gathered up the shipping boxes the blanket had come in. “I guess we can throw these away now.” I began breaking down the boxes when my husband Steven came in. “Hey, you're throwing out the boxes so I'm going to guess the blanket was a success?”

I sighed. “Not really.”

Alex called out from the kitchen. “I can't sleep with it at night but I like it when I'm napping on my couch!”

Steven looked over at me. “Well, at least it's working some of the time.” He tried to sound encouraging.

“I was hoping he'd tell us it helped him sleep though the night.” I folded the cardboard box in half and began taking apart the next box. “You know, 'Hey, Mom! I slept like a baby!'”

Steven shrugged his shoulder. “Well, he kind of did tell you that.”

I looked over at him confused. “How?”

“He slept exactly like he did when he was a baby.” Steven smiled. “Short naps throughout the day.”

“Exactly!” Alex called from the kitchen.

FAMILY TREE

“Did you read this?” I asked my husband Steven as we sat on the couch reading the morning newspaper.

Steven looked up over his paper. “Read what?”

“This article about DNA tests?” I held up the article. “Seems like there's all kinds of drama for some people.”

“We already took ours.” he shrugged his shoulders. “We didn't have any surprises.”

“Wait a second.” I scanned the paper then put my finger on the part I wanted to tell him about. “It says right here that the police can now go through a database where they can track a criminal by looking at a relative's DNA!” I had to laugh. “Can you imagine being in that courtroom as they tell the defendant, 'You can thank your Uncle Louie for getting caught! He wanted to find out if he came from Spain and instead we found you for breaking and entering!'” I looked back over at Steven. “Certainly makes the family reunions a little more tense!”

Steven started to laugh. “Maybe that might make their family reunions better.”

I was still scanning the article “Oh, there's even more drama!” I cried. “It says one woman got back her results and it said the Dad she'd always known wasn't her real Dad.” I looked over at Steven. “She called the company because she thought they made a mistake.”

Steven just shook his head. “What did they tell her?” He'd put his paper down and put his feet up on the coffee table.

“She said they were really very kind when they told her she was a NPE.”

“A what?”

“Genealogists call it non-parental event, a NPE.” I read further down. “She felt isolated until she joined a Facebook group of NPE's and they have over four thousand members so far!” I looked sadly over at Steven. “I guess that's one way to deal with it.”

Steven just shook his head. “I was surprised when I found out I wasn't as German as I thought. I can't imagine finding that out on my results.”

“I guess you could try looking on the bright side.”

Steven looked confused. “What's the bright side?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You get a bigger family?”

Steven shook his head. “I guess that's one way to look at it.”

“Seriously though.” I sighed. “I wasn't thinking about any of these things when we did ours.” I put the newspaper down and looked over at Steven. “Now the companies are admitting that even though they strip your name and any identifying details, a data breach could reactivate that information.”

“Well, there's nothing we can do about it now.” Steven said as he shrugged his shoulders.

“That's true.” I sighed again as I looked back at the newspaper. “They even ended the article with 'caveat emptor'.”

Our son, Alex walked into the room. “Morning! What are you two up to?”

Steven looked over his shoulder. “Your Mom and I were discussing the DNA tests.”

Alex shook his head. “Yeah, I'm never doing one of those.” He stifled a yawn. “It creeps me out that anyone could have my DNA and do anything they wanted with it.” He headed towards the kitchen.

Once he was out of the room I looked over at Steven. “Do we let him know they kinda already have his DNA because we took the test?” I whispered.

Steven slowly shook his head no.

COOKIE DREAMS

I was in the living room reading the newspaper when I saw a section about holiday cookies.

“Hey, Steven!” I called out to my husband who was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee. “Remember when I made Christmas cookie? Which one was your favorite?”

Steven came into the living room and sat down next to me on the couch. “I guess I'd have to say those lacy oatmeal cookies you used to make.” He took a sip of his coffee before setting the mug down on the coffee table, then leaned back against a pillow. “I remember it took you a dozen tries before you'd get the texture you were looking for.” He shook his head as he smiled. “But when you got it they were so good.”

Our son Alex walked into the room. “What was so good?”

“Your Mom asked me about my favorite Christmas cookie.” Steven patted the spot next to him on the couch and Alex came over to sit. “You know, back when your Mom baked.”

Alex looked confused. “You still bake. We just had brownies the other day.”

Steven shook his head. “I'm talking about starting from scratch baking, not making something from a box.”

“It's true.” I sighed. “It's been years since I baked.” I looked over at Alex. “What was your favorite Christmas cookie?”

Alex thought about it a moment. “I really liked the one with the Reese's peanut butter pieces in them.”

“I made one with Reese's peanut butter pieces in them?” Now I was confused. “Are you sure you're not thinking of one of your friends Mom's?”

Steven started to laugh. “Wow! It really had been a long time since you've baked if Alex is remembering someone else's Moms baking!”

“No!” Alex cried. “I swear it was you! It came in an orange bag just like the chocolate chips bag!”

“Oh yeah...” I nodded as I pulled up the memory. “I'd make chocolate chip batter and put Reese's in it instead.”

“Exactly!” Alex looked relieved.

“You're right.” I said as I went back to reading the paper. “They were good, too.”

“Does that mean you're baking this year?” Alex sounded hopeful.

“Naw.” I sighed. “I really don't have much of a sweet tooth anymore.”

Steven and Alex looked at one another. “So why did you ask about our favorite cookies?” Alex asked.

“Oh, I was reading an article about holiday cookies.” I turned the paper around for them to see the article. “I was just wondering what you're favorite ones had been.”

Alex sighed as he got up for the couch. “Well, that was certainly disappointing.”

“I'll say.” Steven got up and followed him into the kitchen.

“Wait!” I called. “I wasn't trying to upset anyone!”

Alex peeked his head around corner, a smile on his face. “If I say I'm upset will that guilt you into baking?”

“Probably not.” I shook my head as I got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. “But it might guilt me into making you breakfast.”

TWO MOURNING DOVES

“Nobody's out there.” I sighed as I looked out the window of our back door.

Alex was in the kitchen with me making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “Isn't that good?” he asked as he tossed the peanut butter knife in the sink and picked up his jelly knife. “Would you really like to see somebody in our back yard?”

“What?” I looked over at him then realized what I'd just said. “I wasn't talking about people. I was talking about the birds.” I looked back out at our woods. “I haven't seen a bird out there for days.”

“Isn't that a good thing for you?” he finished making his sandwich and leaned back against the counter and took a bite.

Now I was confused. “I love seeing the birds.”

“That's not what you told me on our last walk.” Alex reminded me.

It took me a second to remember that I'd told him my first nightmare as a child was after I'd seen the Alfred Hitchcock film called The Birds. “I'm only afraid of dozens of crows sitting in trees or on telephone wires staring at me while secretly plotting against me.”

Alex laughed. “Oh, that makes sense.”

“Hey, don't laugh.” I cried. “Crows are very smart birds. They can remember faces and if you do something against them they've been known to attack!”

Alex looked confused. “What have you ever done to a crow that would make them want to attack you?”

“Nothing!” I shook my head. “That's not the point. The school children in the movie didn't do anything either but that didn't stop them from being attacked as they ran down the road looking for safety!” I shuddered just thinking about that scene again. “But crows weren't what I was talking about.” I looked out the glass door again and pointed to my feeders. “I filled them hours ago and no one's come to visit.”

Alex looked outside. “How long were they empty before you filled them?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I'm not sure. I was so busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and then putting up all the Christmas decorations that it completely slipped my mind.” I looked over at him feeling a little ashamed. “It could have been a week or more.”

“Well, you just answered your own question!” He said as he popped the last bite of sandwich in his mouth. “They're mad at you and they're boycotting our yard.”

I sighed as I looked over at him. “That's not true.”

“Hey!” He shook his head. “You're the one who just said birds can recognize faces and can hold a grudge!”

“I said crows can do that.” I laughed. “I'm pretty sure a black-capped chickadee just wants to eat.”

“You don't know that for sure.” He kissed the top of my head as he walked out of the kitchen. “They could be in a whole other neighborhood, right this minute, asking each other what they did wrong to make you stop feeding them.”

“Oh, come on!” I cried as he went down the hall. “Now you're just trying to make me feel guilty!” I called after him. I turned and looked back outside scanning the woods for any sign of a bird when a set of mourning doves landed under my feeder and began pecking at the ground. “Hey Alex!” I called. “It's going to be okay! A set of mourning doves just landed!”

“That's great!” he called back. “I was really starting to get worried.”

I smiled. I knew sarcasm when I heard it but I didn't care as I looked back at the mourning doves pecking at the ground. “I'm just glad you guys are back.” I whispered to them.

RUSHING VS. ENJOYING

It was Thanksgiving morning and while the turkey was in the oven and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on the television my son Alex walked into the living room. “Happy Thanksgiving.” he said as he leaned over the couch to kiss the top of my head. “It smells really good in here already!”

“Thanks.” I took a sip of my tea. “I'm just taking a little break before I start peeling the turnip and potatoes.”

Alex went into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. “What time do you think we're going to be eating?” he called out to me.

“I'm thinking around 4 o'clock. Does that sound good to you?”

“Sure.” he came in and sat down next to me on the couch. “You sure love watching this parade every year.”

“I really do.” I looked over and smiled at him. “I don't know what it is about it, but I love it! When you see Santa at the end it really gets you in the Christmas spirit!”

Alex just laughed. “Whatever you say.”

“Hey,” I grabbed the remote to pause the show. “I was wondering if you could help me bring down the Christmas decorations from the attic when you're finished with your coffee?”

Alex looked confused. “But it's Thanksgiving. Don't we at least wait until the weekend after to get them down?”

“Usually, but this year's different.” I looked over at the dining room table that was already set for dinner. “Usually we have company for Thanksgiving but this year's it's only us.”

Alex smiled. “I know! Thanksgiving in sweat pants! I love it!”

I had to laugh. “Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to it too! But we're having guests over tomorrow and I'd really like to have the house decorated for them.”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds like a lot of work to me.”

“It is. But once it's done the house looks so pretty!” I tried to sound convincing.

Alex shook his head. “Sure. Why not?”

“Great! Thank you!” I turned the parade back on just in time to see one of my favorite balloons floating down the street. “I used to feel so much more connected to New York when your Aunt Lizzy lived there.” I sighed. “I'd watch the snippets they'd show of the Broadway shows that year and maybe see one with her.” I sighed again. “But then she moved to North Carolina.”

“Wait.” Alex looked over at me. “What's happening here? Two seconds ago you were so happy?”

“I know.” I sighed. “It's this time of year. One minute you're super excited about the holiday and the next you're remembering something that's not a part of you're holidays anymore.” I shrugged my shoulders. “It happens as you get older.”

Alex shook his head. “All right. Well, let's get you happy again.” He put his cup on the coffee table. “Let's start getting the decorations down.”

“Oh really!” I got up from the couch leaving the television on so we could still hear the parade as I went to pull down the attic stairs. “This is going to be so much fun!” Climbing up the stairs I began pulling the containers that I wanted to hand down to him.

Several minutes later I was handing the last container down when my husband Steven came into the hall. “What are you doing?”

“Getting the Christmas decorations down.” I said. “I want to start decorating right after dinner!”

Steven looked confused. “Aren't you rushing the season just a little?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Don't ask me.”

That's when I could hear the parade was coming to an end.

“HERE COMES SANTA!” the host of the parade announced. “THE HOLIDAY SEASON HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED!”

I looked at the two of them as I pushed the last container over to the side in the living room. “I think you both just got your answer.”

TASTY TURKEY

It was dusk and my son Alex and I were hoping to get a walk in before the sun went down. “I really hate that the sun sets so early now.” I complained as I pulled the strings of my sweatshirt hood tighter to cover my ears.

“Remember just a few weeks ago we were talking about how all the trees still had their leaves and how late fall was?” Alex locked the front door and we headed down the driveway.

“Yeah.” I sighed as I pointed to the piles of leaves on the ground. “Look what a few windy days will do.” We were both watching where we were stepping afraid of what could be under the leaves. “You know it just takes that one person who doesn't want to clean up after their dog to ruin a good walk.” I reminded him.

We were halfway through our walk and were rounding a bend when I stopped and pointed “Wow! They got really big!” I cried.

It was our neighborhoods flock of turkeys. We'd been watching the hen and her five chicks since they were born in the beginning of the summer, but now you couldn't tell which was which because they were all the same size. “We haven't seen them in weeks! I thought they'd gone into hiding!” We stopped to watch them as they began moving closer to us.

“Why did you think they were hiding?” Alex said as we moved back a little to give them some space.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, when we saw them before we'd say how cute they were. Now when I see them, so close to Thanksgiving, I just think 'Yum'.”

Alex looked over at me and began to laugh. “Did you actually just say when you see them you thought 'Yum'?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “It really was the first thing that popped into my head.” I felt a little ashamed of myself and thought I should explain. “It's just that we never have turkey except on Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to it.”

Alex looked over at the turkeys busy eating whatever it is that turkeys eat. “Wow! That never would have crossed my mind.” he said as he shook his head.

“That's because you don't like turkey.” I said as we watched the turkeys get in a line and follow one another across the street to another neighbors front yard.

“No...” Alex said slowly. “I like steak and I like hamburger but I've never driven by a cow and thought 'Yum'.”

“Okay! Fine!” I sighed again as we began walking. “Let's just agree that our minds work differently from one another.”

“Oh, I'll agree to that.” Alex laughed as he looked back over at the flock of turkeys. “But I'm never going to be able to see them again without thinking 'Yum'!”