<In our kitchen this morning. I’m up on a high stool rearranging the dishes cabinet in our “downsizing house”.>
The Physicist walks in, intent on a cup of coffee: What are you doing?
I: I’m working with the life I have, instead of the life I thought I was going to have.
The Physicist: <Beat. Beat> What do you mean?
I: I set up the cabinet here for living with three people. We’re now living here with five people. So I’m moving the china back up to a higher shelf and making more room for all the extra dishes.
[Seriously… why would two more place settings make such a difference? Because it’s far more than two extra place settings. More became prudent because one boomerang child, the Scientist, collects dishes in her room. Rather than be constantly annoyed, I went down to goodwill and bought enough to work with that young person’s development. When you deal with a young adult on the spectrum, you wisely choose which one life skill to focus on at a time–and tracking down dishes is not on the list for this quarter. Hence, more dishes. However, when they’re all clean they haven’t been fitting on the shelf. So . . . I give thanks our young people are here, and I am rearranging.]
The Physicist: <laughs>. I asked you a practical question and got a philosophical answer. That was fun!
I: <Oh, really! . . . Hmmm. . . I had forgotten . . . one of his majors was philosophy… I need to remember to answer his questions with deep, obscure philosophical answers from time to time. Seems like it will help keep him on his toes and spice things up for him. Eh . . . that . . . and my perfume . . . .>
Maximum Grace 