It was already dark out when I finished cleaning the kitchen. With a final wipe of the countertop I grabbed the garbage bag from its container, tied the top closed and headed out the back door to throw it in the garbage can.

Leaving the back door open, I lifted the lid to the can when a horrific smell hit me like a ton of bricks. I dropped the bag on the ground and raced back in the house.

“Oh my gosh.” I couldn’t stop coughing as I leaned against the closed door.

My son Alex came around the corner holding his shirt that was pulled up over his nose and mouth. “What’s that smell?” he cried.

“I was taking the garbage out and I think a skunk got me!”

“How did it flood the whole house so fast?” He looked behind him. “My room’s all the way at the other end of the house!” He looked up at the ceiling where the return register for the air conditioning was. My eyes followed his.

“I’ll go turn off the air conditioning!” He raced into the living room and shut off the air conditioning but it was too late.

The whole house was filled with the noxious fumes.

Still coughing I came into the living room. “I’m going to go change my clothes I think it got me!” I smelled my shirt sleeve but didn’t smell anything. “I’m not taking any chances.”

A few minutes later I came back into the living room carrying my skunked clothes. “I just got out of the shower and now I’m going to throw these in the washing machine.”

Alex had opened the front windows and turned the ceiling fans on. “It’s not getting any better in here.” He said, his shirt still over his nose and mouth.

“Try turning on the exhaust fan over the stove.” I called over my shoulder as I headed for the laundry room.

With the skunked clothes in the machine I came back into the living room. “Still not better?” I asked as Alex stood in the middle of the living room, his face still covered with his shirt. “No, and I just checked my room, it really stinks in there.”

I grabbed my phone and looked up how to get rid of skunk smell. “Okay, it says right here that vinegar helps get rid of the smell.” I held out the phone for him to see before I went into the kitchen and pulled out the gallon jug of white vinegar and put it on the counter top. Going into the cabinet I took out a stack of bowls.

I filled two of the bowls and handed them to Alex. “Start placing them all over the house.”

When he returned I handed him two more. “Don’t forget to put a few downstairs in the basement.” I called after him.

When I ran out of bowls I began filling glasses. When the last drop of vinegar came out of the container I looked over at Alex. “Well, let’s see if it works.” I sniffed the air. “Either I’m starting to get used to it or it’s getting better.” I said.

Alex sniffed the air. “Not to me it isn’t!” He quickly pulled his shirt back over his face. “So how long does it say it takes before the vinegar works?”

“Good question. I didn’t read that far.” I took my phone out of my pocket and looked it up. “Well, this isn’t good.” I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows before holding out the phone to him. “It says it can take up to three weeks.”

“Three weeks! Are you kidding me!” He began shaking his head, with his free hand he pointed to his shirt that covered half his face. “I can’t keep walking around the house like this!”

“What if we try putting cotton balls in our noses?” I headed for my bathroom to get some.

“How about no more taking the garbage out after dark?” Alex called.

I came back in the room and handed him a handful of cotton balls. “You don’t have to worry about that.” I said as I stuffed a cotton ball in my nostril. “I’m pretty sure I’ve learned that lesson!” I stuck another one in my other nostril. Twitching my nose around I looked back at Alex. “It’s not comfortable but I think it’s working.”

Alex just shook his head and handed me back the cotton balls. “It’s going to be a long three weeks.” He sighed.

It was first thing in the morning and my son Alex walked into the kitchen where I was pouring hot water into a tea cup.

“Morning!” I said to him as I put the kettle down and went over to the cabinet to get the bottle of apple cider vinegar. “How’d you sleep?” I went over to my cup of hot water and poured a splash of the vinegar into it.

“Pretty good.” He went over to the cabinet and pulled out his own cup, watching me as I went to the refrigerator and took out the bottle of lemon juice. “You’re still doing that drink?” He asked as he got his coffee from the shelf.

I sighed. “Yeah, it doesn’t taste very good but it seems to be helping.” I opened and closed my fingers to show him the results. “The inflammation seems to be getting better because I can work on a needlepoint canvas without being in pain anymore.”

Alex nodded as he set up his pour over coffee filter. “You have been sewing a lot more recently.” He acknowledged.

He looked over as I poured lemon juice in my cup followed by a few squirts of honey.

I smiled as I picked up the container of cinnamon. “And now for the finishing touch!” I laughed as I sprinkled the cinnamon until the entire surface of my cup was covered.

Alex shook his head. “I don’t know how you can drink that every morning.”

“On an empty stomach.” I reminded him as I took a straw and began stirring. “Well, here goes.” I held out my cup for an invisible toast before taking a few sips.

Alex watched me as I muscled through several more sips before I had to stop drinking and couldn’t help but shudder as I shook my head. “Wow that’s one tart way to wake up every morning!” I shuddered again.

Alex started to laugh. “Hey, you’re the one who’s been saying it’s worth it.”

“Totally worth it!” I said as I began moving my fingers again, on the hand not holding my cup, while I glanced over the rim to see how much of the drink was left.

With only a few inches left I made the final commitment. “Well, here goes!” I said as I began taking the last few sips.

Finally, I could hear the sound of the straw as it reached the bottom of the cup. “I did it!” I cried as I placed the cup on the counter top and leaned my head back, crossing my arms across my chest, and doing one final shudder. “It’s still yucky but I have to say it’s getting less yucky every day.” I uncrossed my arms and began moving my fingers again. “Have I mentioned that it’s totally worth it?” I asked again.

Alex began to slowly pour the hot water over his coffee grounds. “Are you stating a fact or are you just trying to convince yourself?” He asked.

“Both.” I admitted with a laugh. “Hey, if I really wanted to do it right I’m actually suppose to be sprinkling some cayenne pepper in there too.” I began to shake my head. “But that’s not happening.”

“Why not?” Alex put the kettle down.

“Are you kidding me?” Another shudder came out of no where. “Tart and heat at the same time, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach!” I shook my head. “There’s no way I could start every morning like that.” I was still shaking my head. “Absolutely no way.”

“Hey, if it’s suppose to be better…” Alex laughed.

“Nope.” I began moving my fingers again. “This is just fine the way it is.”

“Dinner will be ready in five minutes!” I called out to my husband Steven and my son Alex.

I could hear muffled “Okays.” from both of them.

I was standing at the sink with a colander in one hand and a pot in the other getting ready to drain the potatoes when I looked up and saw a ladybug on our window screen.

“Well, welcome back.” I said as I put the pot down on the counter and went to the back door.

My husband had planted a big garden this year and one of the many things he’d gotten for it was hundreds of ladybugs to keep the aphid population down. I’d been so excited when we released all of them a few months back.

I went over to the screen and placed my finger by the ladybug waiting for her to crawl onto it. “It’s time to get you home, Missy!”

She climbed onto my finger then quickly scurried to the palm of my hand. “Let’s go.” I said as I walked to the garden gate and unlatched it.

I went over to the first tub where cucumbers and squash were planted and leaned my hand against a leaf. “Here’s a nice spot.” I said as I encouraged her to get on the leaf.

Instead she went further up my arm. “Okay.” I said as I moved to a pot of lavender. “Maybe you’d like to climb onto this.” I leaned my arm closer to the flowers but she went in the opposite direction.

“Okay.” I sighed. “You seem to be very particular on what you want to be on.” I walked over to the tomato plants. “What about here?” I asked as I leaned my arm against a leaf.

It was then that my son Alex came out on the back porch. “I thought you said dinner was in five minutes?”

I looked over at him. “I did but then I got distracted when I saw one of our ladybugs on the kitchen window screen!” I began moving her towards the leaf.

Alex walked down the porch steps and was headed for the garden. “Do you want me to finish getting dinner ready?” he asked as he stepped through the gate and walked over to me.

“No. We’re almost finished here.” The ladybug was walking closer to the tomato plant leaf. “See, you remember how nice it is here.” She was slowly making her way down my arm, back into the palm of my hand, headed for the leaf. “ I’m sure we have some yummy aphids for you to eat.”

She was just about to step off my hand when all of a sudden she took flight and headed out of the garden.

“Oh, come on!” I cried as I watched her leave.

Alex patted me on the shoulder as we walked out of the garden, closing the gate behind us. “Well, you tried.” He said as we walked back to the house.

Steven was coming out of the back door. “I was wondering where everyone went.” He pointed back to the kitchen. “There’s a pot of potatoes on the kitchen counter, a pot roast in the crock pot and a salad on the dining room table but everyone was gone.”

“Mom was trying to get a ladybug back in the garden.” Alex explained as we walked up the porch steps.

“I thought one of yours had come back.” I said as I walked back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, but it turns out she was at the wrong address so she flew away.” Alex said as he closed the kitchen door and took the plates off the counter to set the table.

I looked at Steven and shrugged my shoulders. “I tried.” I sighed as I picked up the pot of potatoes and began to drain them. I looked out the kitchen window and saw another ladybug crawling on the back of an Adirondack chair. “Nope, not this time little lady. You can figure out how to get to the garden all by yourself!”

I was visiting my sister Liz in North Carolina. We were sitting on her porch discussing the latest movies that were out in the theaters when I couldn’t help but voice my opinion on one.

“Everyone’s talking about the Barbie movie.” I shook my head and sighed. “I hated playing Barbie when we were little.”

“Really?” Liz looked confused. “I loved playing Barbie!”

I looked over at her and raised my eyebrows. “Of course you did! Because you had the Barbie Dream House and Barbie Corvette.” I started to laugh.

“It wasn’t the real Dream House. It was more like a ranch.” She said as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, while you were living in your Barbie Dream House my Barbie lived under my bed.” I started to laugh at the memory. “And while your Barbie drove around in her Corvette my Barbie drove around in an empty tissue box!”

My sister looked even more confused. “I don’t remember that.”

“Of course you don’t!” I laughed even harder. “Because you were living in a Barbie ranch and driving Barbies Corvette!”

“I do remember I used to love having dinner parties at that house.”

“Oh, I remember those!” I was still laughed. “While you were getting ready, driving to the pretend store and getting your dream house ready I was wedged under my bed watching dust bunnies swirl around me and keeping myself busy by chewing on Barbies hands!”

“You chewed your Barbies hands?”

“Yup!” I nodded my head. “I sure did.”

Liz shook her head. “Why?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess it was because I was so bored.” I grabbed one of the pillows next to me and placed it behind my back. “The worst part was when you would announce the theme of your party and how you wanted Barbie to dress for the event.”

“Why was that the worst part?”

“Because,” I looked over at her raising my eyebrows again. “all my Barbies hands were chewed up and I couldn’t get her arms through any of the sleeves!” I started to laugh. “I’d pull up to your dream house in my tissue box, half dressed because I couldn’t get her clothes on!”

Liz was shaking her head and laughing. “I swear I don’t remember any of that!”

“Well, that’s how I remember playing Barbie.” I sighed. “So I’m pretty sure that’s why I’m not a Barbie girl.”

We sat quietly for a moment before I came to another realization. “You know, now that I think about it, you still like throwing theme parties.”

“I do.” She said as she put her legs up on the ottoman. “I’m thinking about having another murder mystery dinner party this fall.”

“Oh, I remember your last one!” I was holding up my pointer finger. “Didn’t you ask all your guests to come dressed as their character they were assigned?”

Liz nodded. “I did.”

“Well.” I sighed again. “Hopefully I’ve progressed enough from our Barbie days not to show up half dressed and driving a tissue box to the next theme party I’m invited to.”

I was climbing up the attic stairs when my son Alex came out of his room. “What are you up to?”

I was half way up the ladder when I stopped and looked down at him. “Oh, good. I’m glad you’re here. I was going to grab a suitcase, can I hand it down to you?”

“Sure.” Alex waited at the bottom of the ladder as I continued up. My head just cleared the attic floor when I spotted the suitcases a few feet away. Grabbing one I pulled it over to the opening and lowered it down to him.

“Got it.” He placed it on the floor.

I slowly climbed down, folded the ladder in two and raised it back up until the hatch was back in place. “Well, that was the easy part.” I sighed.

“What are you talking about?” Alex moved out of the way as I picked up the suitcase and headed for my bedroom.

“I hate packing.” I answered as I tossed the suitcase on my bed.

“What’s so hard about packing?” He sat down on the ottoman we had at the end of the bed.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m always afraid I’m going to forget to pack something that’s important.”

Alex shook his head and laughed. “I’m pretty sure Aunt Lizzy will have anything you forget to pack already at her house.”

“I know.” I sighed again. “But I haven’t been on a plane since before Covid.” I went over to the closet and began picking through my clothes. “I’m not sure what I’ll want to wear while I’m there.” I grabbed a pair of black dress slacks and tossed them on the bed. “It’s been a while since I’ve packed a carry-on.” I picked out a few tops and tossed them next to the pants. I stood in the middle of the room, hands on my hips, staring at my jewelry box. “Do I go crazy and do matching jewelry for each outfit?”

Alex held up both hands and began laughing. “You’re asking the wrong person that question.”

“You know what?” I shook my head. “I’m switching gears. I’m going to pack the fun stuff first.”

I headed for the master bathroom and opened up a cabinet.

Alex had followed me and was standing in the doorway. “What fun stuff are you talking about?”

I pulled out a handful of packets and began shuffling through them. I held up the different packets. “I’ve got eye masks, sheet masks for your face and my absolute favorite…” I held up a larger package then the others. “Pedicure masks for your feet!” I headed back to the bedroom and tossed the packets into the suitcase. “We’ll do an evening of beauty while we sip on a glass of wine and maybe watch a movie!”

Alex nodded. “That sounds like fun.”

I looked over at him. “Really?” I was surprised. “Do you want to try one?” I started to head back to the bathroom.

“Nope.” He held up his hands. “That sounds like fun for you and Aunt Lizzy. Not me.” He began to walk towards the door. “I’ll leave you alone and let you finish your packing.”

“Thanks.” I watched him leave then went back to the suitcase and looked inside where the only things in it were the different masks. “Well, at least that’s a start.” I sighed as I headed back to the closet.

I had just gotten back from running errands when my son Alex met me at the door.

“Oh, no.” Alex said as he pointed at the Dunkin Donuts cup in my hand. “That’s never a good sign.”

“Come on.” I laughed. “It’s a small Chi tea. I felt like I deserved a treat today.” I dropped my pocketbook on the couch and began looking around the living room. “Did you happen to see a damselfly in here?”

Alex looked confused. “A damselfly?”

“Yeah, they look kind of like a dragonfly only smaller.” I was searching the room looking for any signs of it.

Alex pointed at my Chi tea again. “Did you see this damselfly before or after you drank that?”

I put the cup on the coffee table and started to laugh. “The tea might make me a little jittery but it certainly doesn’t make me hallucinate!”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “If you say so.”

“No, really! I actually saw it fly past me before I went out for my errands.” I was still looking around the room. “But I was running late so I didn’t have time to catch it before I left.”

“Okay, well good luck with finding it.” Alex patted me on the shoulder as he headed back to his room.

I picked up my tea and took another sip. “So, if I were a damselfly where would I be hiding?” I asked myself as I scanned the room again. I put my cup down and moved the blanket from the back of the couch. “Here you are!” I cried as it flew toward the picture window.

“I found it!” I called to Alex.

“Really?” Alex came out of his room to see the damselfly bouncing into the front window.

“I told you it was in here.” I was kneeling on the couch reaching out to scoop the insect into my hands.

Once it was safely in my cupped hands I stood up and began walking to the kitchen door. “Can you open the back door for me?”

Alex went ahead and held the door open for me.

“Come on little fella.” I whispered into my closed hands. “I’m going to bring you to a safe place.”

“Are you sure you’re not squishing him?” Alex asked as I walked past him and out to the back porch.

“I sure hope not.” I placed my cupped hands on the railing and slowly began to open them. The damselfly began walking around on the palms of my hands. “Aren’t you beautiful.” I said with awe.

Alex looked closer. “They are kind of interesting looking.”

“Okay, little fella it’s time for you to be free!” I reached my hands out past the railing and gently tossed it back in the air.

It was at that moment that a gust of wind came up and blew the damsel fly away. “Whoops!” I looked over at Alex my eyebrows going up. “Did you see where it went?”

Alex shook his head. “Nope.” He began to laugh. “So much for bringing it to safety.”

“He’s fine.” I reassured myself. I turned my head to call over my shoulder. “By the way, you’re welcome little fella!”

My son Alex and I had just finished taking a walk in the park and were driving home.

“Do we have time to stop by the book store?” he asked. “I wanted to get a book on Yoga.”

“We don’t have to stop.” I looked over at him and smiled. “We already have a Yoga book at home.”

“Really?” Alex took his water bottle out of the center console and began unscrewing the top.

“I bought it years ago, but I’m pretty sure I know where it is.” We were just pulling into our neighborhood.

“That would be great.” He took a sip of water and screwed the top closed. “Is it for beginners?”

I guess my pause was a bit too long because Alex began to laugh. “You’ve no idea, do you?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think I ever looked at it after I bought it.” I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows. “But I had really good intentions at the time!”

He placed the water bottle back in the center console and patted me on the shoulder. “No worries. I’ll look it over and show you a few poses later.”

“That would be great!” I pulled into the driveway. “I’m pretty sure it’s on the bookshelf in my office.”

We were walking up the front walk as Alex took the keys from me and unlocked the front door.

“Let me go get it for you.” I said as I tossed my purse on the chair and headed to my office.

Alex followed me.

I began going through the bookshelf. “Hmm…” I ran my fingers down the spines of the books checking each title. “I was positive it was here.” I had gone through all the books on the shelf.

“Are you sure you bought one?” Alex asked as he followed me to another room where there was another bookshelf.

“I’m absolutely positive.” I said as I began going through the books on another shelf. “I still have the yoga mat I got with it.”

“Where’s that?” Alex asked as he looked over my shoulder double-checking the titles.

“It’s under one of the chairs in the living room.” I turned my head to look at him. “I use it every once in a while when I do exercises so I’m not just laying on the hardwood floors.”

After I’d gone through all the titles on the shelf I stood back up and stretched my stiff back. “I can’t imagine where else it could be.”

“See.” Alex pointed to what I was doing. “Yoga would help with your tight back.”

“That’s exactly why I bought the book in the first place.” I said. “I just forgot to follow through with it.”

“Well, thanks for looking.” Alex said as he headed to the front door. “I’m going to head out to the book store. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Wait, I’ll come with you.” I said as I scooped my purse off the chair and followed him out the door.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” he asked as we headed for his car.

“Well, now that you’ve inspired me I was thinking about finding a book on home Pilates without all the fancy equipment that goes with it.”

Alex turned around and started to laugh. “Do you think Pilates is going to be easier to do than Yoga?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I said I was going to look for a book. I didn’t say anything about buying it.”

I was scrolling through my phone while my son Alex and I were sitting on the back porch having our morning coffee for him and tea for me. Suddenly an article caught my eye and I stopped scrolling. “Well here’s something interesting.” I quickly scanned the article.

“About what?”

“Grounding.” I held my phone so he could see the screen. “They sometimes call it Earthing.”

Alex started to laugh. “Who’s they?”

I shrugged my shoulders as I turned the screen back to myself. “I don’t know. Some expert.”

“Expert in what?”

I looked over at him, eyebrows raised. “Grounding I guess.”

Alex shook his head and laughed again.

“It says that we’re not connected with the Earth anymore so we’re not getting the Earth’s electrons to heal our bodies.”

“Heal it from what?” Alex took a sip from his cup before setting his cup back on the table and leaning back in his chair.

I began listing the benefits. “Reduces inflammation, pain and stress. Along with improving blood flow and helping with sleep!” I looked over at Alex. “I like that last one.”

“What are you talking about?” Alex looked confused. “You can fall asleep in less than a minute.”

“There’s always room for improvement.” I countered. “I want to be able to fall asleep exactly when my head hits the pillow.”

Alex shook his head. “Grounding.” He gave a small chuckle. “It sounds made up to me.”

“I don’t know.” I put my phone down and picked up my cup of tea. “I know when we go to the beach I like sitting barefoot in the sand.” I took a sip and held the warm cup in my hands. “It always seems to calm me.”

“Everyone feels calm at the beach.” Alex said. “It’s not just the feeling of having your feet in the sand. It’s the sound of the waves hitting the shoreline. It’s taking a deep breath and smelling the ocean. It’s feeling the sun and breeze on your skin.” Alex looked over at me. “All of those things are why you feel calm at the beach.”

“Maybe.” I kicked off my flip-flops and stood up. “But there’s no reason why I can’t test it out here.” I walked down the steps of the deck and began walking barefoot through the grass in our back yard. “You know, when I was a kid I spent the entire summer walking around barefoot.” I called back to him. I stopped to wiggle my toes in the dewy dampness of the grass. “This feel great!” I began walking again. “I wonder why I stopped doing it?”

I was getting closer to the bird feeders and stopped again. “Oh, now I remember why I stopped walking barefoot in the grass.” I quickly turned around and headed back to the deck.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked as I walked up the stairs and across the deck leaving wet footprints along the way.

I pointed to the bird feeders. “The deer emptied them again last night.”

“How can you tell it was the deer?”

I looked over at Alex with a disgusted look on my face. “Because I almost stepped in a giant pile of deer poop they left in the grass while they were eating all the bird seed.”

Alex laughed. “And there ends your grounding.”

“That’s not true.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ll keep grounding.” I sat down, looked over at him and smiled. “But only when I’m at the beach.”

I held the little sachet up to my nose and inhaled deeply. “Oh, my gosh!” I cried as I held the sachet out to my son Alex. “You have to smell this!”

Alex shook his head. “No thanks. I’m not a big fan of lavender.”

I rubbed the sachet between my hands to intensify the fragrance. “How can anybody not like lavender?”

Alex laughed. “I can’t believe you talked Dad into getting lavender plants for the garden.”

“That’s the crazy part.” I started to laugh. “I didn’t talk him into it.” I pointed my thumb against my chest. “He asked me to go get some!”

Alex shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like Dad at all.” He had a confused look on his face. “Dad hates lavender even more than me.”

“What can I say?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Sometimes I get lucky and things just work out for me.” I inhaled the sachet once more. “A little slice of Heaven.” I sighed.

My husband Steven came into the room.

“Here, you have to smell this!” I cried as I held out the sachet to him.

Steven held up his hands and took a step back. “I thought we agreed to keep the lavender outside.”

I held the sachet close to my chest. “I don’t remember making that agreement.”

“We got the lavender because the bees like it and it keeps them in the garden long enough to pollinate my vegetable plants.” He reminded me.

“See, we’re coexisting!” I held my lavender sachet out while pointing to the butcher block where cucumbers and beets were laying that Steven had recently picked. “Everyone’s happy!”

Steven and Alex looked at one another.

“Okay, fine.” I sighed again as I slipped the sachet in my back pocket. “What if I promise that the sachets I make only go where my things are?”

“So, not in our closet.” Steven started to list the places holding up a finger for each spot. “Not in our bathroom, the laundry room, living room, dining room, or kitchen?”

I nodded. “Agreed.”

“And not in our bed.” Steven added.

I held up my hand to stop him. “It’ll just be under my pillow.”

Steven began to shake his head.

“Lavender helps relax me and lets me get a good night sleep.” I argued.

“Lavender makes me sneeze and gives me a headache.” Steven countered.

My eyebrows went up. “Really?”

Steven nodded. “Really.”

I shook my head and laughed. “I’ve had a lavender sachet under my pillow for the last five years.”

Steven didn’t miss a beat as a concerned looked crossed his face. “So that’s why I’ve had a headache everyday for the last five years?”

Alex started to laugh as I swatted Steven’s arm. “You are so full of it!” I cried as I took the sachet out of my back pocket and headed for our bedroom. “I’m slipping this between my pillowcase and pillow right now!” I called over my shoulder.

“Just make sure none of it gets under my pillow!” Steven called back.

It was eight-thirty in the evening and I was sitting on the couch, the remote in my hand aimed at the television, when my son Alex popped his head around the corner.

“I’m putting a pizza in the oven. Do you want some?” He asked.

I looked over at him. “No. Not right now.” I sighed.

Alex looked confused. “What’s that suppose to mean?”

I put the remote on the coffee table and got up to follow him into the kitchen.

“I mean I’m not hungry right now.” I could see the pizza was already on the pan on top of the stove while he was waiting for the oven to preheat.

Alex picked up the bottle of olive oil and did a light drizzle over the pizza. He grabbed the container of Italian seasonings and shook some on top along with some red pepper flakes.

“Oh, man.” I sighed again. “You’re killing me here!”

“So, you do want some?” The oven beeped that it had reached the correct temperature and Alex slid the pizza in and closed the oven door. He went over to the cabinet to get some plates. “Dad and I are having some.” He grabbed a third plate. “I take it you want some, too?”

“No, I don’t need a second dinner.” I tried to reason with myself. “I’m not even hungry.” I watched as he started to put the third plate away. “But…” I relented. “I know once I start smelling it, as it heats up, I’m going to want a piece.”

Alex looked over at me and put the third plate on the counter. “So the answer is yes?”

“I just want you to know that me eating a piece of pizza, when I’m not even hungry is going to be all your fault!”

Alex started to laugh. “Your will power is that weak?”

I nodded my head. “It is when it comes to pizza.”

Alex set the timer on his watch. “I’m setting my alarm for twenty minutes.”

“Okay.” I pointed over my shoulder towards the living room. “I’ll be waiting on the couch being annoyed with myself for not being able to say no.”

Alex shook his head and was still laughing as he headed to his room. “Don’t blame me.” He called over his shoulder.

“Oh, I am!” I headed for the living room. “Why can’t your second dinner be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Or just heat up some leftovers from dinner.” I called to him. “I wouldn’t be interested in either of those.”

“I already had that dinner.” He called back. “And I’m going to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich later for my third dinner.”

“Third dinner.” I said under my breath as I flopped back down on the couch and reached for the remote. “How’s it even possible?”

My husband Steven was walking through the room when he saw the look on my face and stopped.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“No!” I said as I looked over at him. “You two are making me eat pizza at eight-thirty at night!”

“We’re making you?” Steven started to laugh.

“No one can smell pizza cooking and refuse a piece!” I looked over at him and shook my head. “Absolutely no one.”

Steven nodded his head. “I have to agree with you on that one.”

“Exactly!” I put my feet up on the coffee table and leaned back against the cushions. “Hey, Alex!” I called. “How much longer until the pizza is ready?”