Pictures and Vegetables

Yesterday morning I went to the photography studio where Alex had his senior portraits taken, and placed the order. Although I had mentioned to Ted and other family members that I was sure it would be over $1000, I was hoping deep inside that I was wrong...WAY wrong.

I wasn't, sigh.

The total bill would have been less than $1000 if the pictures weren't so darn good. We had the same problem with Joey's pictures, except his total was a little over $800, but that was four years ago, and with inflation, it's probably close to the same.

That's okay though...we have two sons, and we really don't mind spending money on them for things like this because they appreciate it, and they are both really good kids who haven't given us any trouble.

The photographer stopped in while the lady and I were working on the order. I was glad, because I wanted to tell him personally how happy we were with the proofs. He seemed genuinely appreciative to hear that.

After leaving the studio I headed to my folks' house to get some things out of their garden. They always have a nice garden, and there's nothing like a fresh, homegrown tomato, mmmmmmm. They gave me a several regular tomatoes and a bunch of grape tomatoes, along with a cucumber, a green pepper, and some hot peppers. I mentioned to them that they did a great job staking up their tomatoes. A few of the plants are taller than the actual stakes! The only part of the plants touching the ground are the actual stems. There's room to walk in between the plants without squashing tomatoes. They grow cucumbers at either end of the plot, and one end seems to be producing more and larger cucumbers than the other. I prefer the smaller ones. I just think they taste a little better, but some of theirs are really HUGE. Cucumbers tend to hide too. You check them out and see blossoms and the vines, and the next day, there are suddenly 10 of them. It's like, "where did you come from?" I love how the leaves on cucumber plants feel...soft, with a wee little bit of texture.

After I put my vegetables in the car, we went back inside and talked for a while. Without getting into too much detail, part of our conversation centered around a particular person. My father has a very strong personality. He's had to with his career in law enforcement. He's got a real tough exterior, but just a few of us chosen ones have seen a glimpse of his softer side. He doesn't put up with B.S. either. He.just.does.not.period.

So in this conversation in regards to someone, he happened to ask me how I could even have this person come to our home and be civil to them. I said that in my heart, I knew I was doing the right thing. This person is rather immature and doesn't always treat people nicely. I said that when I die, I will know that I always welcomed them and treated them as they should be treated. He commented again that he didn't know how I could do that, especially given the things that this person has said about me and treated me on occasion.

I mentioned that I was raised properly, and that's why I do it. I glanced over at my mom, and she had a knowing, understanding look on her face, and looked at my dad. I said that they both raised me the right way. For a brief moment, he didn't know what to say, which for anyone who knows my dad, realizes that that in itself is a shock, because Dad always has a comment ready!

I've always thought that men think differently than women, and this was just another example of why I think that way.

It just never occurred to him that THEY are the reason that I've turned out the way I am. They get all the credit for the formative years, and once I was able to make decisions for myself, all those decisions were/are based on my background. I like to think that I'm a good person, who does things for all the right reasons. I've learned right from wrong, and choose to go down the right path. And that's all based on how I was raised.

So, thank you Mom and Dad.