Sometimes I leave my parents's house with more stuff than I arrived with because my mom always tries to give her stuff to me. During a prior visit, she tried to give me some pasta bowls. This weekend we ate out of the same pasta bowls and I commented on how cute they are. My mom then made a comment about how she tried to give them to me one time but I wouldn't take them. This weekend my mom offered to give me a small rocking chair she bought at a garage sale for $10. I would have taken it if my brother hadn't informed me that it was the only chair he has to sit in while he plays video games. I decided I'd rather my 19 year-old brother sit in a small rocking chair while playing violent video games than have the chair sitting in my living room.
My parents always load me up with food when I leave home. They frequently give me a cooler to keep the food cold while I drive home. So far, I have a red cooler, a blue cooler, and a hefty styrofoam cooler. This weekend I left with with the customary brisket and a bonus 1.5 gallon container of Quinoa. My parents have multiple 1.5 gallon containers of Quinoa sitting around the kitchen. My mom explained that my dad wanted to try Quinoa. My dad explained that he could only find Quinoa in very large quantities. I'm not sure how much I believe this considering my dad's affinity for food in large quantities. I'll never forget the oversized jar of baby corn that lived in our fridge for a while. He explained that one as a good deal, as we all know that baby corn also comes in small jars.
This past weekend I learned just how much my dad loves a good deal. One evening my dad explained that he buys the box of 24 mini ice cream sandwiches instead 12 regular size ice cream sandwiches because while both boxes are the same price, the mini ice cream sandwiches are over two ounces each and the regular ice cream sandwiches are only a little over three ounces. Perhaps even more telling of my dad's weak spot for a good deal are the National Geographic magazines. My dad, whom I have never witnessed reading for leisure, now subscribes to National Geographic. He informed my mom that it was a good deal. Upon seeing me read one of the National Geographic magazines, my mom seized upon the opportunity to send the magazines home with someone who might at least remove them from their plastic sleeve. So, when I left on Monday, I left with a bag full of National Geographic Magazines, as well as a number of Smithsonian and This Old House magazines. There must be a lot of good deals on magazine subscriptions. Perhaps it's inherent in the difference between the shelf price of a single magazine and the price of an annual subscription.
The best good deal that my dad has succumbed to is a vitamin system called Endless Youth. These vitamins arrive at my parents' house periodically. The problem is that my dad did not take the vitamins the first few times they arrived. As a result, there are multiple boxes of Endless Youth vitamins sitting on top of the fridge. I kindly declined my mom's offer to take home some Endless Youth Vitamins. I would hate to be accused of stealing youth from my parents. Besides, my car was already full of quinoa, magazines, and a cooler of meat.
You might wonder if my dad would be offended by this somewhat comical take on his impulse to buy things because they are a good deal. Don't worry, this blog requires reading for leisure, something my dad doesn't do even when he pays for it. Also, my dad isn't the least bit interested in computers. My mom showed my dad a compilation of images from the People of Wal-Mart website. My dad responded by stating that the person who made the video spent a lot of time sitting in Wal-Mart taking pictures. So, no, I don't think my dad will be reading this blog, and I expect you to keep your mouth shut the next time you see him.
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