Father's Day Flop

Yup, you read correctly. It's not yet Father's Day and it's already been a flop.

Flop #1...one of our traditions is to do Father's Day fondue for dessert. I purchased everything I needed for it on Wednesday (my predetermined shopping day) except for the pineapple and strawberries. I was going to get those for a better price at Costco. However, after going to my local grocery store I realized I wouldn't be going to Costco. It was my "off" week. I only go to Costco on paydays and that won't be again til the 20th...after the fact. (Yes, yes, I'm a creature of habit, or as Jared likes to tease, I'm OCD. But he refuses to "medicate" me because he admits that this blessing--or curse--makes his life much more tolerable in many ways). Back to my flop. Turns out my dear friend Stephanie was going to be going to Costco on Thursday. So I asked her if she would pick up the fruit for me. Of course she did and I was ever so grateful not to have to make that extra trip. The strawberries were beautiful and ripe. However, I guess conditions inside my house sped up that aging and deterioration process tremendously because this afternoon, (one day later), I noticed unmistakable fuzz growing on my strawberries! ACK! I went to wash and slice them hoping to salvage at least half of them and only got 4 good ones off the top. Only 4 strawberries out of 4 pounds! All the others were a soggy, furry mess. So now we're going to have a very bland looking platter of fondue dipables...bananas, pineapple, and pound cake. I'm so bummed! Strawberries smothered in chocolate are most divine. *sigh*



Flop #2. I took the kids with me to Fred Meyer today. I had some errands to run and they all wanted to come. I decided to get Jared some shorts for Father's Day. He's been needing some new ones to replace the haggard ones that he just got rid of. I found a nice beige pair that were 50% off. Bonus! After purchasing our things, Cooper had the responsibility of carrying the plastic bag the shorts were in and making sure they stayed hidden from Jared. Cooper assured me he wouldn't let Jared see them. When we got home, I totally forgot about the bag with the gift in it, but Cooper didn't. Jared was in the kitchen when we came through the garage door. Cooper went to great lengths to keep the bag hidden by holding the bag behind him and keeping it behind him even if it meant walking backwards so Jared wouldn't see. I congratulated him on remembering to keep it a secret and instructed him to put the bag in my closet. A couple hours later, Jared was working on his Sunday School lesson on our bed. I went in to check on him and saw the plastic bag on the foot of our bed, less than 2 feet from Jared's line of sight. I eyed Jared. I eyed the bag. Back to Jared. He caught on and said he didn't even notice it. (Eyes rolling here.) Thank goodness for his perpetual nonobservance. And I chucked the bag in my closet. Although, with a little thought, based on the weight and shape of the bag, I have no doubt Jared could have guessed what was in it. Unfortunately, the story doesn't end here. A couple hours after that, we gathered the kids on our bed for family prayer. Jared was on his side. I was on my side. Cooper jumped up by Jared's feet and Jake was by mine. (Karcyn had already crashed for the night). The kids were going on and on about a movie they had just watched. We finally got a word in and said it was time for prayers. Cooper had to have the last word and said, "Dad, can I ask you something?" (Which, with Cooper, usually means "Can I tell you something?") Then he said,"I know what we got you for Father's Day, but I'm not going to tell you!" while waving a finger slowly in front of his face. I smiled and said "Good job." That's when Cooper looked down and noticed the beige pair of pants Jared wore to work that day folded up on the edge of the bed closest to him. And he loudly whispered across the bed to me, "Psst, Mom," pointing not so discreetly to the pants, "Are these the shorts we got Dad for Father's Day?" I froze. How do you respond to that? We were beyond a cover-up. The element of surprise could not be recovered. And then I busted up laughing. I couldn't believe the irony. We were so close to keeping it a secret.

I'm not even going to wrap the shorts.

Hopefully there will be no more flops for us this weekend.