I apologize to anyone who is here looking for discussion on
being gay and Mormon. My last blog post
spread much more than I ever expected and that might be what has brought you to this usually rather mundane blog.
While I occasionally write serious posts, most of my posts are just
about funny things that happen to me and I write them for my friends. You can find my posts about being gay here, here, here, and here. This post, like most of the things going on in my life, has nothing to do with being gay.
So back to the status quo.
Anyone who knows my mother would tell you that she's an angel. But she also has quite the knack for forgetting things. Last summer when I was in Washington visiting
my family I went to the mall with her and my sister. We stopped by the GAP for a few minutes and I
found a hoodie that I really liked (I have a thing for hoodies). I considered buying it, but not only was it summer,
but I would soon be heading back to Arizona where summer goes on forever so my
sensible side came out and I decided not to buy it. However, my mom had recently learned
something that rich parents have known for decades--buying your kids things makes
them happy. She said, "How about I
buy it for you and then give it to you for Christmas?" I accepted and the hoodie was purchased and
stowed in a closet.
In November my mom called to discuss what I wanted for
Christmas. I told her that she had already
bought me a hoodie. She had no
recollection of the incident. She then
tore the house apart looking for the elusive hoodie, but it was nowhere to be
found. She was incredibly apologetic and
offered to buy me a replacement hoodie, but so much time had passed that I
didn't even remember what it had looked like so told her to stop looking for
it. I got a Camelbak for Christmas instead. A few months after Christmas she
randomly found the hoodie hidden in her closet.
My mom just gave me the hoodie last week, one year after she bought
it.
My "new" hoodie a year after my mom bought it |
Last Tuesday I was flying from Tucson to Seattle. During my three hour layover in San Diego I
was glued to my phone responding to messages about my latest blog post. Most of my blog posts get fewer than 200 hits
so I wasn't expecting such an immediate response. Because my eyes were so locked to my screen I
boarded my plane without reading any signs or hearing any announcements (I
know, I'm such a millenial).
I thought my flight was a direct flight to Seattle, but
after we'd been in the air for about an hour the pilot announced that we
were starting our descent. I looked out
the window and I didn't see the verdant forests of western Washington below and
the trip hadn't seemed nearly long enough.
A flight attendant walked by me just then so I said, "Excuse me,
where is this plane going?" She
gave me a rather quizzical look that seemed to say, "How could you not
know where the plane you're on is going especially since you had the nerve the ask
for a whole can of cranapple juice earlier?"
She smiled and said, "We're landing in Oakland." She started to walk away and I stopped her
again, "Um, is it going to Seattle next?" She once again looked surprised to be
answering a question that I should have already known the answer to and said
yes.
When I landed in Oakland I called my parents. They had told me that they were going to take me out to dinner, but that seemed like a hassle so I told my mom that she could
just bring me something simple from home like fruit or a sandwich. She replied, "Well, umm, okay... That
might be hard to do." I asked why
and then I heard my dad say in the background, "Just tell him." My flight was scheduled to land in Seattle at
9:20pm. I had sent my itinerary to my
parents weeks before so they should've known when I was arriving. But for some reason they thought I was
getting in at 5:00pm. Trying to beat the
traffic through Seattle they left really early and had gotten to the airport
before 4:00. My mom admitted,
"We're already at the airport."
To add insult to injury my flight arrived to Seattle about
20 minutes late. As soon as I saw my
parents I apologized that they had had to wait for me at the airport for so
long. They didn't want me to feel bad so
they just smiled and laughed it off. My
dad did say, however, "I thought it was so weird that you were arriving at
5:00 because that's when traffic is the worst and you always plan your flights
so we won't have to deal with traffic."
It's true, that's exactly what I do.
I'm a pretty considerate son.
I offered to pay for my parents' parking at the airport, but they wouldn't hear of it. The charge for parking at the Sea-Tac airport for 6 1/2 hours: $21.00. That's the price of forgetting.
I still can't believe I've never met your parents. But yay for a new hoodie! Can't wait to see you wearing it in 6 months when it's finally cool enough to warrant one in Tucson!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? Especially since not only have I met your parents, but I've been to both of their houses. And the new hoodie is rad, but it's so last season.
DeleteWhile, I found your blog because of the gay mormon posts, I added you to my reading list because you make me laugh. Thank you for sharing your life with the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteI, like so many others, found your blog on Facebook after your "A Walk in My Shoes" post. I was so impressed by your thoughts and testimony that I have since read all of your blog posts. (Does that qualify me as a creeper?) It's unlikely we will ever meet, but I just want you to know that I think you're awesome and I'll continue reading your blog, mostly because you crack me up. I especially liked reading about your high school and middle school Spanish class students. I used to work at a high school and a jr. high. I could totally relate. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's 1:30 am, I should be in bed. But gratefully I'm laughing at a story of life that in no time at all may be me...and my sons. Thanks
ReplyDelete