TeamReedBlog.2020

 If you don't already know, the grocery can be a dangerous place. The other day, for example, Jeff and I de decided to brave the somewhat bitter cold and walk to Meijer on Keystone. It's not that far and we didn't need much, plus, we'd been slugs.  So off we trot. We got separated in the store because Jeff is like a bargain bloodhound. He puts his nose down and doesn't stop until he's sniffed down every aisle searching for a great bargain. It's good for our budget, but I get bored. So I wandered off thinking he'd be easy to find.  It's possible I was distracted. Or maybe delirious from the cold weather walk. In any case, I spy him up ahead, just north of the eggs and on the edge of the liquor section. He's focused on his phone, no doubt trying to determine if that sale price on whatever bottle has caught his eye is really a bargain. Because I'm a fun wife, I decide to give him a fun, slightly  risqué , surprise. I sneaked up on him in my best...

Perhaps because my own twenties were perhaps not well-spent - thank goodness social media had yet to be invented - I believe that we all should be forgiven for that particular decade of our lives. Case-in-point, Alison Reed brought two pairs of 3-inch heels to our Turks & Caicos trip and paired them with bikinis. That's what she wore to get down to the beach for two of our days there.  Did we all question her choice? Yes. But I didn't protest and other than shaking our heads, we left her to her own fashion decisions. We had our favorite spot on the beach - in sight of the Rum Shack and nearly at the end of the resort's property line where we spent most of our days. We had two cabanas there and some evergreen trees for shade when the sun was too much, and one of the most beautiful views in the world.  Ali would take the heels off at the end of the boardwalk, and walk barefoot through the sand and spend the day sunning, shading, swimming and snorkeling before hopping back...

The other day I was recalling the excesses of the season and decided that we can never stay home for Christmas again. It's been a whirlwind of fun, don't get me wrong. But I am terrified of getting back into even my most forgiving stretchy waistband jeans. It's not entirely our fault. The storm and Southwest Airlines' meltdown meant we had Kevin, Ali's former roommate as a guest through Christmas rather than just an overnight before his flight home to Baltimore. So of course, we went out to dinner, ordered an enormous box of Chinese food and cooked more than we might have otherwise. The Captain went to the well mixing up cocktails and bringing out lovely bottles of all sizes and shapes. Because we were here, and we are fortunate to have great friends, we also were able to have dinners out that often included pre-gaming with snacks and drinks.  In perhaps a stunning indictment of either how terrible or how great of parents we are, Alison declared that "I drink m...

 If my refrigerator could talk, it wouldn't be speaking to me right now.   In a world of stress, war and struggle, we are fortunate that our Thanksgiving leftovers are crammed into every nook and cranny in that thing. And that's after sending home most of a ham, meals-to-go for two, one whole pie, treats for others and the night and day-after of sampling favorites. It didn't help that we met our Jacksons for our annual Friendsgiving dinner last night and brought home two more containers of food. My fridge might be complaining, but I'm not.  Deb couldn't make it, but sent a pan of her cheesy potatoes, which weren't as good as having her here, but did solidify her in-spirit participation. Donna's student has not surpassed the master, but Becca's rolls were amazing and nearly gone. Donna's pumpkin roll will be a memory today, I'm sure if Jeff didn't finish it off when I wasn't looking.  If the refrigerator is mad at me, I'm lucky the tel...

One of the favorite things Alison and I like to do on Sundays when we are together is to read advice columns in the New York Times and the NYT Magazine to judge others.  In our defense, they ask for it.  And as we are sometimes judge-y people, we like to be sure  Kwame Anthony Appiah , John Hodgman , Philip Galanes and Roxane Gay  are on their marks and giving the best advice. Today was an exceptional day as they all agreed with our assessments of the various situations. "We should totally be advice columnists," Alison said. "Although, they might be nicer than we are with their answers. They're like how Aunt Lois (Stewart) would do it." For example, one person explained their son had suffered from cancer, had gotten a "Make a Wish" vacation to Hawaii but was now in remission. The boy, just 14-years-old, said he didn't feel right about taking the vacation because he'd fully recovered and other people could benefit if they declined the vacation....

I always get a little weepy when Alison goes back to school. I don't know how I'm going to be when that school or job is several states - or an ocean - away. It's not that I don't want her to go. I want her to have an awesome, travel-filled, productive and happy life. I just want to be part of it. I should be happy that she wants to come home and spend time with us - and I am. But every time she leaves, she's that much closer to a life that doesn't really need me in it. Poor me.  I say that knowing full well I'm not poor at all. She is a healthy, smart, lovely, kind, entertaining and happy person who still wants to spend time with us and who makes us laugh out loud on the regular. That makes us wealthy beyond measure, and I'm grateful. Instead of trying to make a mad dash to some new locale for her short Fall Break, we stay-cationed (if that's still a thing) and treated ourselves to fabulous meals at places I highly recommend to you: Root and Bone i...

"Let's go to Lafayette and take a bike ride with Ali," I said. I'd envisioned a trek through Celery Bog , maybe some other trails in and around Lafayette and West Lafayette. She's starting her senior year at Purdue, so she's got a far better sense of the local geography now. She neglected to remind me that the western portion of Indiana isn't as flat as central Indiana. It was in the mid-80s with a slight breeze as we pedaled from her new studio apartment following her. It was super pleasant, and then, she took a turn through a residential area muttering to herself about how she thought this was the top of the hill.  We dutifully followed her and then were flying down a mile-plus long, gorgeous, curvy strip of Happy Hollow park, braking to avoid the families and walkers who were also out enjoying the weather. It was just  dangerous enough to be exhilarating without scaring the pee out of you.  We survived to the bottom without injuring anyone. And then, sh...