Screen Door Discussions

Almost daily I have a quick, 30 second to two minute "screen door discussion" with my friend A.B. Great advice, concerns and major insights happen once in a while. Most often though we just have a good laugh over something trivial, but you know what? That quick little chat gets my day off to a great start. Yes, the smooch from my hubs gets me going in the morning too... but I'm barely awake for that. By 8 AM pickup I'm awake enough to have an "outfit" on for the day and maybe even a bowl of steel cut oats in my belly. This morning's topic? Rogue sippy cups.

I know! Every mom just groaned and thought about that long-lost sippy found molding under the backseat in the van last summer on the 13th day of hotter-than-hot hotness. We've had a few of those roll around our vehicles, but the worst? The absolute most disgusting, get out the rubber gloves and a clothespin for your nose kind of gross came last summer. My daughter's room had a stench I just couldn't quite identify. Vomit? Not quite. Urine? No. Molding crackers? No. Spoiled rotten milk? Absolutely!... but WHERE????

For over a week I cleaned, sanitized, vacuumed, reorganized, sanitized again and tore apart her room. Nothing. Until...

"Mom!!! Look what I found!! I found the bag I packed to have a sleepover with Ella in her room?"

"Mmmhhhmmm. That's nice."

"No! Look! I found it! And my pajamas are in there and my sippy cup!!!"

"Mmmmhhhmmm... ok.... wait, WHAT??? What sippy cup? Let me.... OMG, nevermind... I can smell it from here..."

Whoop! There it is!

And the smell in her room dissipated almost immediately. However the Skip-Hop backpack, brand-new pajamas and undies that actually fit and the sippy cup were a total loss. Permanently. I tried washing the clothes, but after three rounds in the ol' Whirlpool Duet I gave in and tossed them in the trash... in the garage. Uck. Blech. and Eeesh.

So that morning as A.B. commented that she spied a rogue sippy cup in her back seat, she wasn't worried about it. Weeks of sub-zero temps have kept that milk nice and fresh. Drinkable likely. Isn't winter wonderful?

And once again that "screen" door conversation gave me a new perspective on winter. It's singular redeeming quality found rolling around in the back seat of the morning carpool.