A Million Year Half-Life
I was at my parent's house a few weeks ago, and Mr. Personality wanted some milk. Like the ever dutiful mother, I go the the cupboard and search for a small cup. Staring at me from the middle of it is a stack of the same Tupperware cups that I used as a child.
I didn't know if I should be pleased at the memories or kind of creeped out.
They were a bit worse for wear, the particular orange one I chose had been melted a bit on the rim by a decades-ago dishwasher that got a bit too hot. But it was still kicking and useful for its intended beverage-holding purpose.
To walk through their house is to experience an odd juxtaposition of old and new. They have a Neptune washer and dryer, yet have a creaky, sagging set of folding doors that hide them. They have a fairly expensive computer system residing on a cheap and rather ancient pressboard computer desk. They have a Bosch dishwasher that of course, washes 30 year old Tupperware.
My parents have never been big on replacing things unless they absolutely have to. Like, only when they break. And even then, they waited two years to buy that new dishwasher. It isn't because they can't afford it, I happen to think that they are just kind of cheap. They have a bathroom that needs gutted, they need new carpet, drapes and paint, and all kinds of things that they have never bothered to update. But, I know from personal experience what a money pit a house can be, and once you start one thing, its a big domino effect that can possibly never end.
Perhaps it is a testament to Tupperware that those glasses still reside in the cabinet, rather than an indicator of my parent's failure to break down and just buy some new cups already! Maybe I should buy some of their stock. Or just some glasses.
That way my grandchildren can drink out of the same cups as Mr. Personality!
Ok, I think I've decided that it definitely creeps me out.
I didn't know if I should be pleased at the memories or kind of creeped out.
They were a bit worse for wear, the particular orange one I chose had been melted a bit on the rim by a decades-ago dishwasher that got a bit too hot. But it was still kicking and useful for its intended beverage-holding purpose.
To walk through their house is to experience an odd juxtaposition of old and new. They have a Neptune washer and dryer, yet have a creaky, sagging set of folding doors that hide them. They have a fairly expensive computer system residing on a cheap and rather ancient pressboard computer desk. They have a Bosch dishwasher that of course, washes 30 year old Tupperware.
My parents have never been big on replacing things unless they absolutely have to. Like, only when they break. And even then, they waited two years to buy that new dishwasher. It isn't because they can't afford it, I happen to think that they are just kind of cheap. They have a bathroom that needs gutted, they need new carpet, drapes and paint, and all kinds of things that they have never bothered to update. But, I know from personal experience what a money pit a house can be, and once you start one thing, its a big domino effect that can possibly never end.
Perhaps it is a testament to Tupperware that those glasses still reside in the cabinet, rather than an indicator of my parent's failure to break down and just buy some new cups already! Maybe I should buy some of their stock. Or just some glasses.
That way my grandchildren can drink out of the same cups as Mr. Personality!
Ok, I think I've decided that it definitely creeps me out.
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