Like Father, Like Daughter

Today was one of my early work days this week. Even with such a beautiful day, work was busy and went quickly. There were a lot of really big orders. If kids weren't going to college or coming to one of the colleges in the area, people were returning from vacation or stocking up for Labor Day barbecues or back-to-school. (Not to mention, the Acme is just having a lot of great sales this weekend.)

Since it was such a nice day, I thought I'd go for a swim. We're probably on the last few weeks for the pool. I ended up at Uncle Ken's after a quick stop at the bank to deposit my paycheck in the ATM machine. Uncle Ken and Dolores had gone to Wildwood for the weekend, but Dad, Jodie, Brittany, and Jessa were around. I went for the swim first. The water was cooler than it has been, but still nice. After my swim, I joined the girls upstairs. They were still playing Lego Star Wars; when they finally got bored with it, they decided they were in the mood for the real live-action Star Wars movies. We watched The Empire Strikes Back downstairs until dinner.

Dinner wasn't bad...or at least, us girls didn't think it was. Poor Daddy was upset. He kept going on and on about how terrible the food was. He overcooked the broccoli. He didn't season the shrimp scampi enough. The fried rice clumped. While I admit the Scampi needed a little bit more seasoning, it was far from inedible. The broccoli and fried rice tasted fine, and the salad was delicious, filled with fresh tomatoes from Uncle Ken's tomato plants. Even after Jodie, the girls, and cleared our plates and went back for seconds, Dad STILL continued on and on about how he'd botched dinner!

He sounded like ME. A lot. I always assumed I did it just because I don't think and it's the first thing that comes out of my mouth. Now I'm wondering if it's genetic. Jodie confirmed that yes, Dad's a perfectionist, too. (She also added that Dad had been in a bad mood for much of the day, which may have been part of the reason for the dinner incident.)

After a chat with Jodie and Dad on the porch, Jodie and I decided to take Jessa and Brittany to Leo's Yum Yums Ice Cream Parlor for some dessert. Alas, it turned out they were closed until 8PM, and it was only quarter after 7. We did get a nice ride in Dad's classic red Mustang out of it, though.