A Simple Kind of Mirror

Friday night, we drank scotch, or Tito's, or beer. And by scotch, it was either Glenlivet, Auchentoshan, The Macallan, or Dewers (for those who mix with soda). And by beer, I mean Yuengling, except for the strays that Kat was drinking from the back of the fridge. And by we, I mean all of us who got together to spend a few minutes with Jamie while he was in town for Easter. Like so many such gatherings, I didn't get to talk to everyone I wanted to talk to for nearly long enough. Unlike so many gatherings, this one was all very last minute, and I pat myself on the back a bit for getting it together on a moment's notice. I subjected the room to vinyls new and old. There weren't too many complaints, haha, until Mr. Bebout wanted to hear Toto. We did not run out of 50/50. We did finish off the Auchentoshan. If there is one thing I have finally learned from hosting a few get-togethers, it is that I never have leftover shrimp. I should have skipped the cocktail weenies and gone for more shrimp. While there were a few folks that we missed, we got a good turnout of FOBs (Friends of the Bachman), to raise a glass with him during his short stay in town. I woke up the next day, not so much hungover as dehydrated. A couple large glasses of water and I was good as new, or as good as I normally am anyway. (Cue the Toby Keith right about here.) Saturday, I worked for a bit, but did get outside to enjoy the lovely day -- if only to work around the yard. But there was something strangely satisfying about cleaning up the old leaves, sticks and other debris. I feel like I know the land my house sits on much better now. The yard is ready to mow, as soon as the grass grows a little. I also picked up turfbuilder and a spreader -- one bag to be applied this week, one bag to be applied Memorial Day weekend. Easter, MJ and I went to Jefferson to have dinner at my Dad's. Dad and Marcy put together a nice meal, and Marcy's parents and kids were over as well. Dad grilled steak, and over dinner we talked about such tastefull table topics as autopsies, dissections, and medical procedures. We played Clue, we played Skip-Bo. Dad's stigmata healed just in time for the holiday. We have pictures we can upload later if you really want to see. Also a pic of Kat "bearing" a cross (made of chocolate). MJ and I endured a little pointed questioning from Marcy's daughter, CM. Marcy's daughter is this cute young thing with a baby in tow -- a baby I once referred to as the Tater Tot, because he is about as wide as she is, but stubby. Before long, mama could hem her pants and give them to the boy as hand-me-downs, but perhaps I am overstating the case. (Hey kid, nice pink capris!) But since it might be a little mean, perhaps I won't call him that anymore. Unless he doesn't grow out of it, in which case, yeah, I'll be that mean. Anyway, the questioning. CM asked me if I was planning on having any children. She asked me how old I was now, and more or less, what was I waiting for -- that I shouldn't want to get too old without having kids. The thing is, CM's situation is so tragically fucked up, dishing it back at her would have been mean. All I said in response was that at my age, I still had plenty of time to become a father, decades even. MJ got a few similar questions too, apparently, when I was out of the room. MJ is 7 years younger than me, so there is still a fair amount of time on her clock before having babies looks like a now-or-never proposition. Still. On the ride home we took turns one-upping each other with the snide retorts we didn't make -- such as: I want to enjoy my adulthood before having kids. I want to do it right and get married first. I want to be financially secure before I start bringing new life into the world. Which on their face aren't snide, but in the context of the situation, yeah, that might have been snide. Except that she did ask, so, it might have been fair, even if a little harsh. I concluded that it was unnecessary to be that mean (though here I am blogging about it). To a young mother with not a whole lot else going on for her, squeezing out the Tater Tot is her biggest (and perhaps only significant) accomplishment, and in the context of her life, being a single mom is pretty much all that she is about now -- and it is what she has to talk about. That and some anti-Michigan comments she made for MJ's benefit. Surely we were too easy on her.