I ran to the Walgreen's today to get a mailing box for my niece's and sister in law's gifts (a photo of the toy wombat I made, which I finished last night, will come a bit later).
While I was there, I decided to buy some bows. Because I could put them on their gifts but also on the things I got as "gifts to myself" or the things my mom is mailing that won't be wrapped - I can stick a bow on the box and put it under the tree and it will feel a LITTLE more festive.
And then, a sudden memory: I don't know where he got them, from Rex Salvage or where, but one year when my brother and I were kids, my dad, who was always the bargain shopper, bought a bag of bows. And they must have been "seconds" or "slightly irregular" because some of them were REALLY messed up - uneven, or with loops not caught into the backing. One of them was TINY -like three loops of green ribbon and very strangely shaped.
At that time, Ed Grimley (remember him) was a popular SNL character, and we took to calling them Ed Grimley bows.
The particularly misshapen green one, we saved for several years running and each year after the first, either my brother or I managed to sneak it onto one of our dad's gifts. And of course we thought that was absolutely hilarious and Dad kind of eye-rollingly tolerated it.
Family in-jokes are the best in-jokes. I miss that kind of thing now.
Also, driving back, I passed a "Grease Service" truck (the kind who clear out the grease traps at restaurants) and was reminded of an in-joke my mom and I had, from The Simpsons: "Me rrrrrrretirement grease!" said in the best imitation of Groundskeeper Willie we could do. I don't even remember now what triggered it though seeing a grease service truck definitely would.
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