Get Your Kool On

The other day I was at my parents house working on my taxes. My mom was out and my dad was washing my car. He spoils me by taking care of my car, and so I always feel like I should do something for him during those times. There usually isn't a whole lot I can do. I offered to make him lunch, but he doesn't like to stop and eat when he's busy doing things around the house. So I thought, I'll could maybe get him something refreshing to drink.

Now some history.

My dad drinks Kook-Aid. It is HIS drink. It is what he has drank all my life at every dinner and every weekend day I can think of. He always has it in a large plastic cup and he always wants a lot of ice. He always drinks red Kool-Aid and because of that, we always have a container of prepared red Kool-Aid in the door of our fridge next to the milk. Always.

Back to the story.

After my dad turned down my offer of lunch, I said, "Do you want some Kool-Aid?"

He looked up from where he was scrubbing the hood of my car down and said with a big kid-like smile, "Yeah! That would be great!"

It's been about four years since I lived with my parents, and I can't remember the last time I went to the fridge to get my dad Kool-Aid. But it was funny because I knew the routine. I knew to grab the large plastic cup and fill it up with ice, and I knew there would be Kool-Aid ready to pour. The whole process made me reflect with amusement on this little quirk of my father's. For a second it made me really appreciate home. There are certain things about how a family lives--places things are stored, lights that are turned on at night, rooms that are used for specific events, ways of doing things. You know--all the routines of daily life. The family knows these things. The family does them without thinking, without question. Anyone outside the family wouldn't know about these things. They wouldn't "live" the same as us.

The General and I have some of our own traditions. We have been roommates for four years now so in many ways we have also created some of our own "home habits." Here are some examples: 1) We use only half a paper towel each. We rip it in half and leave the other half there for later use. 2) We leave our keys in a bowl by the door. This is a carry-over from when we used to have tandem parking. 3) We only lock the bottom lock when the first one of us leaves in the morning. 4) We have sides of the sink where we leave our dirty dishes. 5) We don't generally use the house heating, but we have a little portable one the General stole from the ex that we use constantly. 6) We always try and leave a light on if one of us is still out. Right now, that means one of the floor lights near the window.

Sometimes these little habits are comforting. And it is nice to know that the people you live with--whether they are family or friends--know and follow those same habits. Maybe that's what they mean when they say there is no place like home.

(There's another post from today below. I'm very busy at work.)