The Grocery List

     Sorry for the belated August blog posting.  School ... ya know?  

     I am going to tell you a funny story that had happened to me recently.  You might have had a similar experience at some point:

The Grocery List

     Dad picked you up from cross country practice and the two of you are on the way home.  You always call Mom to let her know you and Dad were on the way home, but mostly to find out what was for dinner and to decide if it was acceptable.  If the announced meal plan was not acceptable, then you and Dad swing by the grocery to buy food for a “good” dinner (“good” as determined by you and dad, i.e. no broccoli and more ice cream!)  So, on this day, you call Mom and you ask "What's for dinner?"

     Mom replies, "Pizza, but we are missing some ingredients."  Mom listed the ingredients that were needed for pizza, you are able to catch all of it, because you have helped make a lot of pizza and know the ingredients necessary for pizza.  But then, Mom told you there were some other items needed.

     Mom lists the first item.  It flew right over your head.  You ask her to repeat it.  She did.  From the sounds you could hear, you hazard a guess.

     "Silk?" you asked.

     Dad, who is driving, started laughing (not at you though), "No silk on the pizza!"  He was the master chef of pizza.

     Mom replied no, and she repeated the word again.

     "Oap?" you asked again, clueless.

     At this point, Dad laughed and listened in the phone conversation to help you.

     Third time really is a charm.  "Soap."

     Dad laughed again, "No soap on the pizza!"

     Now you figured out one item, you listened for the next.  Once again, it flew over your head.

     "Ba-Ba-Bar?"  You burst out laughing.  That could not be it.  Mom is hard-of-hearing, too, and this time she was confused also.

     You try again to figure out the word with Mom.  Mom repeated the sounds; you hazard another guess.

     "Garlic chives?" you asked.

     Dad looks puzzled.  Mom replied “no” again and repeated the words.

     Once again, third time is a charm.  "Oh! Garbage bags!"

     Dad laughed

     Mom said yes.  Now that you had the complete list, it was time to go off to the grocery.

     Afterward, Mom and I talked about this little miscommunication.  We were actually surprised that the cellular conversation was not more confusing; we came up with a list of words that we could have confused with garbage bags, words that were about three syllables long, that could be found in a grocery, that begin with a 'g' or a 'b', and that end in an ‘s’.  It was a sizable list: garbonzo beans, green snow peas, grocery bags, buffalo wings.  If that happened again, Mom and I decided, we would just text each other the list or word.