THE SISTERS’ ANNUAL GET-TOGETHER

I just returned from my yearly visit to a state park to spend a night with my two sisters, MA and BJ. We had a great time, as usual, spending most of yesterday lounging at the pool and solving all the world’s problems. We love talking to each other, but visiting with them always emphasizes to me how different I am from them, especially in a domestic situation.

For one thing, they are both very thrifty and watch their pennies carefully. I, on the other hand, am just the opposite and I’m sure that I spend much more on groceries than they do even though the genius and I eat out a lot. On this outing I was again reminded how unlike we are in this respect.

Each one of us prepares a meal and brings it with us. This time I brought yesterday’s lunch, MA brought the dinner, and BJ the breakfast that we ate before departing for home. I had brought paper plates and disposable drinking cups so we wouldn’t have to wash as many dishes (I’m always looking for ways to make housekeeping easier). After we finished lunch and I was starting to clean off the table, MA said to leave her paper plate where it was; she didn’t get it dirty and she could use it for dinner. I am accustomed to this kind of behavior from her and said OK. (The genius has jokingly accused her of going through the trash cans after our annual picnic to look for plastic cups to take home and re-use.)

Last night I looked over at her as she finished up the dinner and did a double take. She was pouring dishwashing liquid into a zip lock bag, then water, and washing it so she could take it home and use it again. When I couldn’t resist making a comment, BJ informed me that she did the same. And one of them, I can’t remember which one, said she had brought something wrapped in aluminum foil that was recycled. And of course, all the disposable plastic cups were washed by hand so they could be used again.

The key word for me here is “disposable.” Why use plastic cups when you’re going to wash then afterwards? Why not just use glasses or fine crystal? The joy and beauty of using plastic things and aluminum foil is so I can throw them away after I use them.

Ah well, as I said before, if I didn’t look like these two, I would think my mother and father had picked me up off the street someplace. I guess we had an ancestor somewhere back in our lineage who was like me in this way, but so far I have found no evidence of that.

The good news is that in spite of our differences, we accept each other the way we are and have a great time together.