Car Chat

We were headed for the mall this afternoon--a rare excursion since we moved to California. I seem to have lost interest in shopping in general and malls in particular. But the youngsters had cleaned their rooms and bathrooms and the living room to "my kind of clean"...this is an elusively high standard of cleanliness that I reserve for company and as incentive for when they want something enough to put in extra effort. They scurry around cleaning and tossing dirty clothes into the laundry room and before I bother to go look I ask them, "Is it just clean, or is it MY kind of clean." They know that a slap-dash, lick and a promise effort isn't going to get them that ride to the mall to purchase their long-awaited game. They know they are going to have to step it up and go all out. There will not be things shoved into corners or under beds. The bedspread will not be covering rumpled sheets and dirty socks. The sinks will not be harboring toothpaste dribble. When they really want something, I find out what they are really capable of--and their meager everyday efforts become a little lackluster. But such is the life of a mom--I do all that I can to motivate and inspire and the kids do all that they can to get out of as much work as possible.

So, where was I...oh yeah...on the way to the mall. This particular mall has a caramel popcorn establishment. Oh, I have a weakness for caramel corn. Two favorite things wrapped into one delicious, tasty, crunchy snack. I don't even think about it 99.9% of the time. It's too much work to make it myself and I have only been to the mall a handful of times since we moved here. But just thinking about going to this mall turns my thoughts to the caramel corn. Like Pavlov's dogs. Mmmmm Caramel corn, drool.

I just typed all of this to tell you our conversation on the way to the mall:

Me: You all have one main objective while we are at the mall, you must keep me from going anywhere near the caramel corn.
Sam: Oh, you know you want it.
(Sam likes it as much as I do--and is always happy to help me eat it.)
Shane: Do we have to do like Odysseus' men and tie you up to keep you from the Siren call of caramel corn?
Sam: We'll stuff beeswax in your nostrils.
Shayla: Oh! I get it--they stuffed their ears with beeswax so they couldn't hear the Sirens' song! Hahaha! We are such nerds. I mean geeks.

The family that laughs at Greek mythology references together, stays together...or maybe they homeschool.

OK, we're nerds.

I mean geeks.