Memory Lane

I was talking with a friend tonight, remembering a story from a very long time ago.

When the Man and I were newly married he was working for a small family owned company. We all knew each other since it was a local company and employees' spouses would stop in to show off new babies and say hello to the owners. Christmas parties were cozy affairs at one of the owners homes, with big pots of soup on the stove, lots and lots of hot appetizers, a wide assortment of libations, and many delicious desserts. Sleigh rides through the woods with cups of hot chocolate for everyone, all of us bundled up and tucked under blankets to keep warm. Good times and good memories.

So we all knew each other since we socialized together throughout the year. The guys got along fairly well and they would take turns asking their wives to bake something to bring in to the office to share. 

One day, it was my turn to bake something. I had just gotten a recipe for blonde brownies from a coworker. I had made them several times to rave reviews and when the Man asked me to bake something for him to bring in to work, I chose this recipe. I made them one evening after work and sent them off with the Man the next day.

When he got home from work, he came in with the platter. Full of brownies.

"What's wrong with the brownies? Didn't anyone like them?" I asked.

"Oh, the first guy liked them just fine," said the Man. "Until he bit into a rubber band."

~~~~~~~~~~

Oy vey. I still don't know how that rubber band got into the batter in the first place. But I never had to bake for them again.

Some more photos from the walk the Man and I took this weekend.

I love walking. Clears the head.

K and I are in the middle of watching The Blacklist. Not usually a fan of James Spader but he is spectacular in this series.

~~~~~~~~~~

K and I like to binge watch television series. The Man hates binge watching. He doesn't understand how we can watch the same series from start to finish. We don't stop until we're up to date if it's series that is still running or have seen the whole series if it is over. He gets tired of a series very quickly, like after one episode. He's a throwback to the weekly series. He only wants to watch something once a week.

Unless it's one of his favorite movies. That? He could watch every night.

It's not really about binge watching. At least not for me.

I enjoy watching the shows we choose. But I enjoy the time I spend with her even more. We usually watch a couple episodes each night after the Man has gone to bed. We try to puzzle out some of the shows we watch and remind each other of forgotten details. We share laughs over funny scenes and sometimes get a little emotional over the heart-tugging ones.

A few nights ago we were watching something and I asked her a question about an episode. This tends to irritate her. But she's much more clever than I am and figures things out quickly so I ask her a lot of questions.

She looked at me and stuck her tongue out at me. Perfectly timed and message received. I giggled. Then a few tears welled up in me and I continued to look at her, even as she went back to watching the show. 

"K, do me a favor? On the day you get married, at some point during the day, look at me and stick your tongue out," I said, trying not let her see that I was tearing up.

She looked at me quizzically and said, "What? Why?" 

"Because then I'll know you remember this moment. Just the two of us sharing this moment," I said.

I'm sure I'll tear up on that day. Many times. But I'm looking forward to that moment and this memory.