It was a beautiful fall day and I was on my own. My husband Steven was out of town and my son Alex was meeting a friend for lunch.

“I’m not letting this day go to waste sitting inside.” I said to myself. So I scooped my car keys off the counter and decided to go to my favorite bagel shop, get a sandwich, then go to the beach.

As I was driving I had my windows down and was enjoying one of those perfect fall days that I would want to relive in the coming winter months.

Stopped at a traffic light I could smell someone had a fire pit burning. I took a deep breath. “Love it.” I said to myself before the light turned green.

Once I had my sandwich it was off to the beach where several other people seemed to have the same idea as me.

Sitting on the warm sand watching the waves roll in I could feel a sense of peace wash over me.

The beach has always been a happy place for me.

When I was finished I gathered up my garbage, brushed the sand off of me and headed back to my car.

Not yet ready to head home I decided to stop at another one of my favorite spots along a riverbank. When I pulled into the gravel parking lot I could see I had the place to myself. I couldn’t help but smile as I turned the car off and got out of the car.

It was low tide and the river was like glass. I walked over to the sandy shoreline to see that most of the moored sailboats had already been taken out of the water for the winter. I looked down and saw the perfect flat rock and picked it up.

“I wonder if I can still do it?” I asked myself as I tried to skip the rock across the surface of the water. It landed with a kerplop in the river. I looked around to see if I’d embarrassed myself in front of anyone.

“Nope. Try again.” I said as I looked around for another flat rock.

Getting down at just the right angle I let another one fly out of my hand only to have it sink again on the first contact.

“Come on!” I scolded myself. “I used to be really good at this.”

I scanned the beach for another rock. Found what I thought was the perfect one and let it sail out of my hand.

Another sinker.

“Okay, now I’m getting annoyed.” I found another one and with the flick of my wrist it skipped twice across the water before sinking.

“There you go!” I cried as I raised my arms in the air as if I were Rocky at the top of the stairs. But quickly stopped and once again looked around to see if anyone was watching.

Nope. Still alone.

I couldn’t help but smile as I headed back to my car and heard the cry of a seagull above me. “Did you see me skip that rock across the water?” I asked it as it circled past me and landed in the water. “Bet you can’t do that.”

“Okay, everyone. Listen up!” I placed the mums next to a small hay bail. “We’ve got to work together this year.”

My son Alex came out the front door. “Who are you talking to?

“All my mum friends I just bought.” I pointed to the three plants lined up in front of the stairs. “I’m pretty sure you know my success rate when it come to mums.” I sighed sadly.

Alex nodded his head. “It’s not very good.”

“Exactly!” I pointed to the mums and couldn’t help but accuse them. “Because you refuse to give me any kind of warning. All you need to do is get a little droopy. But no! Instead you go from looking fine one day to dead the very next day!”

When I was done scolding them I started to walk back to the car. “Can you help me with the rest of the decorations?” I called over my shoulder to Alex.

Alex followed me and I handed him a net bag of gourds. “Here, you carry these and I’ll get the pumpkins.”

We carried them over to the display.

“Can you go get the scissors from the kitchen so I can cut open the bag?” I placed the pumpkin next to the mums and went back to the car for the other one.

Alex was coming out with the scissors as I was placing the other pumpkin on the other side of the display.

Alex handed me the scissors and I cut open the bag and began arranging the gourds on the hay bale.

Once I was done I stepped back to admire my work. “It isn’t until the pumpkins and mums come out that I really feel like fall is officially here!” I smiled as I wiped some sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. “Even if it’s still in the 70’s!”

“I don’t know.” Alex didn’t seem convinced. “The weather’s telling me it’s not fall yet.”

“But look at everyone else!” I cried as I pointed to our neighbors homes. “Everyone’s decorated for the fall!”

“Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you have to.” Alex reminded me.

I had to laugh. “Okay let’s not use what I used to say to you when you were a kid!”

Alex began to laugh. “Hey, it seemed like sound advice back then I thought it might be useful for you today!”

I looked back at the display. “I guess I should fill up the watering can and give them a good drink.”

I started to head for the back yard when I stopped and took out my phone. “Maybe I should get a picture of this before they die on me.”

Alex started to laugh again. “I guess you’re thinking that pep talk you were having with them might not work?” he asked.

I checked the photo to make sure I liked the picture before slipping the phone back into my pocket. “I know me.” I sighed as I shrugged my shoulders. “Mums and I just don’t seem to have a good relationship.” I looked over at the flowers before heading to the back yard to get the watering can. “But I’m always willing to give it a try guys!” I called over my shoulder. “Just give me a little help this year. Okay?”

“Good luck with that!” Alex called before heading back into the house.

I was standing by the kitchen sink pouring the nectar that had just cooled into my hummingbird feeders when my son Alex came into the room.

The feeder in the sun had several bees landing on it. “Now the hummingbirds don’t have to fight the bees to get to the nectar.” I looked over at Alex and smiled. “I love being able to help them out like that.”

“I guess the hummingbirds will be leaving soon?” He asked as he took a glass from the cabinet.

“That’s why I’ve changed the sugar to water ratio in the nectar.” I was screwing the perch onto the glass bottle.

“What do you usually do?”

Taking the feeders out of the sink I placed them on the counter so Alex could fill his glass with water.

“All summer I do one cup of sugar and four cups of water. But now that they’re getting ready for their long flight down south I do one cup of sugar to three cups of water.” I picked up the two feeders. “Can you get the back door for me?” I asked as I headed in that direction.

Alex followed me onto the porch as I hung one on the side of the porch that was in the shade. “Okay, some nice fresh nectar!” I called to the hummingbirds. Then walked over to the other side of the porch where I hung the other one in the sun. “And this one’s for the rest of you!” I called.

“The rest of who?” Alex asked as he followed me back into the house.

I walked over to the sink to wash the sticky nectar that had gotten on my hands. “You’ll see.” I pointed out the kitchen window.

“Wow! That didn’t take long.” I rinsed my hands and grabbed a towel to dry them.

A hummingbird was already perched on the feeder taking long drinks before looking around to see if anyone else was coming before going for another long drink.

“I swear I think they sit out in the woods and watch me fill them!” I laughed. “Look at how hungry he is!”

Alex nodded before asking. “So who’s the other feeder for?”

I pointed out the window. “They’re right on time too!”

Alex looked confused. “The bees don’t go to the other feeder?”

“Nope. Not so far.” I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. “I guess they like the one in the sun more.”

“Yeah, but the bee feeder is closer to our back door.” Alex pointed out.

“I’m sorry.” I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows. “But do you need to stock up on extra calories for your long flight south?”

“No.” Alex sighed. “I’m just the guy who’d like to sit on the back porch without a swarm of bees around me.”

“Well then that’s good news for you!” I said as I patted his shoulder and pointed to the feeder. “Because the bees are all over the feeder so they won’t have any reason to go by you.”

Alex sighed again. “I guess I’ll be finding that out soon enough.”

I was sitting on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, ready for a quiet evening at home. As I picked up the television remote, ready to scroll through the channels, I heard the chirp of a cricket.

Looking over at the window I could see it was closed.

“Oh, great.” I sighed as I put the remote down. “It’s in the house.” I got up to begin my search.

Standing in the middle of the living room, patiently waiting for it to chirp again, my son Alex came into the room.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

I quickly pressed my pointer finger up to my lips. “Waiting.” I whispered.

“Waiting for what?” Alex whispered back.

“CHIRP” called the cricket.

“That!” I cried as I headed to the stairs leading down to the guest bedroom.

“Wait!” Alex called. “I’m pretty sure it came from that direction!” Alex was pointing in the opposite direction that I was headed.

“Seriously?” I looked back to where I’d been headed. “I’m almost positive it was coming from down here.”

“I don’t know.” Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I could be wrong.”

“How about you stand there and I’ll stand here and we’ll wait for it to chirp again?”

“I can for a minute.” He looked at his watch. “But I have to finish an email for work.”

“It shouldn’t be long.” I quickly crossed my fingers for extra luck.

We both stood quietly, waiting.

“Oh for the love of…” I sighed. “This feels exactly like the which-smoke-alarm-needs-a-new-battery game!”

“CHIRP!”

I quickly looked at Alex. “Well?”

“I’m not sure.” He shrugged his shoulders again.

I tilted my head back and sighed again. “This is going to take forever!” I cried.

“Not for me, it isn’t.” Alex said as he headed back to his room. “I really need to get that email out.”

“Oh, sure!” I called to him. “Abandon me!”

“You’ll find him!” He called back. “I have faith in you!”

I stood in the hallway, my hands on my hips. “Okay, little fella. One more time.” I said under my breath.

“CHIRP.”

I looked past the guest room and down the stairs that headed to the basement. “Great. Now you sound like you’re down there.”

I walked downstairs and looked in the laundry room, pantry, bathroom and my husband Steven’s office.

“Let’s try this one more time.” I called.

But after several minutes of waiting and only hearing silence I realized my little friend must have decided to stop for the night.

“Well, I guess it’s to be continued.” I went back to the living room, sat down on the couch and picked up the remote again. Just as I clicked on the television…

“CHIRP.”

“NOPE!” I called as I turned the volume up so I couldn’t hear anymore chirping. “I’m done playing for tonight!”

It was the first day of a new school year. The students had been dismissed and I was walking back to my office when I noticed a beautiful bouquet of pink carnations sitting on a table near the front office. Not only did the delicate bouquet have my favorite flowers but the hint of baby breath and eucalyptus leaves made for a beautiful arrangement. “Aw. Someone has a nice surprise waiting for them.” I said as I kept walking down the hall.

As I passed a colleague he pointed behind me. “Aren’t you going to get your flowers?” He asked.

“What? Really? For me?” I turned around and headed back to the arrangement. Taking the card out from the middle of the bouquet it really did have my name on it.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I opened the card:

Happy First Day of School!

Love,

Steven, Max and Alex

“Aw. How sweet is that?” I tucked the card back in the envelope, picked up the vase and cradling it in my arms I headed for my car.

When I arrived at home Steven and Alex were waiting for me at the front door.

“Oh good. They did get delivered.” Steven said as he stepped aside to let me and my beautiful bouquet pass by. “When we didn’t hear from you I thought they hadn’t gotten there in time.”

“Actually I was so busy running around that I didn’t see them until the end of the day.” I placed them on the counter checking to make sure none of the flowers had been damaged on the car ride home. “Aren’t they gorgeous!” I turned around and hugged them both. “Thank you so much! I love them!”

“We could see you were a little sad that your summer break was ending so we thought we’d surprise you with them.” Steven smiled as he went over to the arrangement to check it out. “They did a nice job.” He nodded his approval. “But we thought you’d keep them at work to brighten up your desk?”

I shook my head. “I’m never at my desk.” I went over and picked up the vase and placed them in the middle of the dining room table. “I’ll have more time to enjoy them here when I get home from work.”

Steven shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever makes you happy.”

I leaned in and inhaled their scent. “This definitely makes me happy.” I sighed.

“So, why are pink carnations your favorite?” Alex asked.

“Well, they’re beautiful, long lasting, low maintenance and when I was little girl I could buy one for about twenty-five cents.” I smiled at the memory. “I loved having one in a little bud vase on my bedside table.”

“Well, I don’t think this is going to fit on your bedside table.” Steven laughed.

“Nope! That’s why it’s staying right here in the middle of the table!” I leaned over and inhaled again. “Now I get to enjoy two dozen of these little beauties!” I turned around and gave another quick hug to both of them. “This was definitely the highlight of my first day back to school!”

“That’s what we were hoping.” Steven went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a package of hot dogs. “Alex and I are making dinner. Let me know when you want me to throw these on the grill?”

“Flowers and dinner?” I couldn’t help but smile. “This is the best first day back to school ever!”

My son Alex and I were sitting on the back deck eating lunch when I saw a robin in our birdbath. “Well he’s certainly having a micro-joy right now!” I couldn’t help but laugh as we watched him splashing about in the water.

Alex looked over at me with a confused look on his face. “Micro-joy?”

“I read an article about it. It’s when you find and appreciate the tiny joys in your day. Like this!” I picked up my roast beef sandwich and pointed to the different layers. “A slice of rare roast beef with some sharp provolone, lettuce, tomato, a slice of red onion, topped with some mayo and a little bit of salt and pepper.” I held it out to him. “Now this is definitely going to be a micro-joy.” I said before taking a bite.

Alex picked up his sandwich. “It does look like a good sandwich.” He nodded before taking a bite himself.

I placed the sandwich back on it’s plate, leaned back in my chair and slowly chewed. “Absolutely a micro-joy.” I said as I finished chewing. “Although I did go a little heavy with the red onion.”

Alex laughed. “Yeah, I skipped that ingredient.”

“But isn’t it nice when you can stop and enjoy the little things?” I asked as I picked up my sandwich again. “I’m usually eating just to get it over with so I can move on to more important things I need to get done.” I began looking around the deck. “Just look at how beautiful the geraniums are this year!” I reached over and snapped a dead flower. “This entire summer there wasn’t a day that all of them weren’t filled with flowers.”

“Well, the hummingbirds are sure liking them.” Alex went and took another bite of his sandwich.

“Don’t we have four hummingbirds this year?” I looked over at their feeders to make sure there was still enough nectar in them.

Alex nodded his head. “I’m pretty sure it’s two couples.”

Just then one of the hummingbirds buzzed past our table, headed for the feeder, only to have another hummingbird chase him away.

I had to laugh as they both zoomed past us, headed for the woods. “Clearly they’re not having a micro-joy right now.”

“They spend most of their day chasing each other away.” Alex took another bite of his sandwich.

I leaned my head back closing my eyes enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face. “Ah…it’s the little things like this.” I sighed.

I heard the kitchen door open and turned to see who was coming. “Hey, welcome home.” I said as my husband Steven came out of the kitchen door and onto the deck.

“Well we didn’t win the lottery.” He sighed as he held up the losing ticket, not looking very happy.

“That’s all right.” I said. “It wouldn’t have fit into our plans right now anyway.”

Steven looked confused. “Winning the lottery wouldn’t fit into your plans right now?”

I nodded my head. “Alex and I are enjoying micro-joys right now.” I looked over at Alex then back to Steven. “Winning the lottery would have been a major joy.” I pointed to my sandwich. “Eating this sandwich and looking around our backyard is the micro-joys we’re satisfied with right now.”

I got up and began walking towards the house. I stopped next to him to give him a quick kiss. “Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll make you one. You can eat with us.”

Steven nodded his head and smiled. “That sounds good to me.”

“See you’re smiling again! Welcome to a micro-joy.” I called over my shoulder.

“I don’t care what she calls it.” I could hear Steven say to Alex. “I’m just hungry.”

“I heard that!” I called back.

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.”