Could be better, could be worse

I was going to talk about the kitty wigs today, but really what could I add that the pictures don't already say? Instead I am going to tell you about my experience with local stores. I grew up in a really small town. I attended the same High School that my parents and my grandmother attended. This is a real advantage as a parent. My mom allowed my sisters and I to roam around town as long as we were with a friend or each other. Upon parting from the house she would leave us with these words,"Behave, no fighting,there is always someone that knows me watching you and they will tell me." I was always to anxious too go to ever really worry about that. In high school, my mom started sending my youngest sister along with me when I went out on walks with my boyfriend. Once, we ended up at the beach, Lovers Point to be exact, a small beach downtown. You can see it here,it's the second photo down. Well, we were getting our feet wet and probably lamenting the fact that we had a chaperon and we ended up swinging Alex by her feet and hands and throwing her in the ocean. I thought that was the end of that but several days later, a series of photos depicting this event showed up in the mail from my moms friend. From that point on I knew that I would have to have my own network of people to keep watch over my kids as well.

I have searched out that hometown feeling as I've moved around. In Utah, when we were living in Sugarhouse, we had a pretty good thing going. Originally there was one house between us and a french bakery and a Starbucks. The bakery ladies loved Hans and he frequently came home from buying bread with a cookie the size of his head. The Starbucks girls and I became friends and they kept an eye on Siobhan when she and her friends would sit outside and try to act sophisticated. I made great friends at the grocery store and would wait a little longer in line just so we could chat for a minute. I think this is what you do when you are a stay at home mom. You make friends where you go, because at home it's all kids. Library, thrift stores and coffee shops. These are the places that people will know me.

When we moved here, to Washington, we chose this town because it was affordable and small and older looking. Pete and I love old, we can't really be comfortable in newness. But as we creep up on a year next week, we have realized that this town is not what we had hoped. In Pete's words, it's pretty whisky tango. I haven't really made any friends or connections.There is one grocery that I do end up at a lot. There is one guy that never fails to amuse me. Yep, I wrote all this just to lead up to my favorite clerk. He is probably about 22 or 23. He is really tall and has long hair that's shaved on the sides. You know that look, they then always wear it in a ponytail. The first time he was my checker he asked how I was and I answered back and asked him, the usual exchange. His response was "Oh, could be better, could be worse." It was all just a very routine, typical exchange. But then, when I was back a week later he used the same response. And on the next person as well. I began to sense it was just a script. Doesn't he realize that the grocery store is the place where housewives talk with people over 12 during the day? After that, I became friendly with the manager and he usually will ring me up. A few weeks back though, I went in the evening and the tall kid was there. As I was taking my wallet out he said" You look like you might be in the market for some new piercings." This wasn't part of the script? I have my nose pierced but a lot of people do, I removed my tongue stud after I found out I had cancer. What made me look like I wanted more piercings? He gave me a card for a friend of his that owns a tattoo shop. He asked if I had tattoos. "Yes, 8," I said. He proceeded to talk,at length, about his tattoos and what they mean to him and all the cool new things he wants and blah blah blah. I came home and told Pete and we laughed and I thought, well at least I'll never have to hear "Could be better,could be worse"again. The night before last, I had to run over to get milk and there was a huge line. I had been waiting awhile when he came in from his break and started a new register. First off, he had hickeys. COME ON, who has hickeys?? Even teenagers don't have them anymore, that is so 1970's! If you do, make some attempt to make them less visible at work. I knew this grocery friendship was not going to move forward. But when he said his "could be better,could be worse line" I knew it was time to move on. So, I guess he's not exactly my favorite checker, just the most annoying.
Tonight is Siobhans Christmas Band concert and I already know that this will be a great topic for tomorrow. I have all kinds of band/orchestra stories. Also, I'm open to any suggestions. I can't post without a photo or video and this one I posted over a year ago and it never worked. So, here we go again, Pete's favorite.....