Life's Little Things

Adulthood has taught me that cherished memories stem from seemingly inconsequential day-to-day events. That belief is the reason for my Robert Brault quote at the top, and the inspiration for most of my posts.

On Tuesday, I went with daughter Em for her regularly scheduled prenatal exam. While she was being seen by her obstetrician, I was in the waiting room wondering why such a doctor would have magazines like Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver, and other male oriented magazines in abundance. Where was People? Where were Martha, Paula, and Rachael? Finally, after going around to several magazine stands in the waiting room, I found one magazine that wasn't totally testosteronish--Reader's Digest.

Before I tell you about the gem that I found in RD, I must tell you what happens in my house every Monday through Friday, at 5:30 P.M. and again at 6:30 P.M.--Computer Geek and I position ourselves on the couch and watch Jeopardy!. I have loved this show since my mom got me hooked many years ago, back in the days of Art Fleming and Don Pardo. (Yes, youngsters, there was Jeopardy! before Alex Trebek.) Together, CG and I blast through the questions, combining our brains to beat the current contestants. We joke that alone, we would be an embarrassment to the program, but together we might score enough to be included in Final Jeopardy!. There's sometimes mild competition between us, but nothing worth causing a divorce.

Back to Reader's Digest. I read it in my usual manner, reading the funny anecdotes first, then going to the vocabulary section, and finally reading any stories that looked interesting. While testing my vocabulary knowledge, I came upon the word "polymath." I correctly guessed the definition as "a person of great and varied learning."  It was what I read right after that in the sample sentence that caused me to almost do a momentary dance of glee in the waiting room:

Yeah, so I had to take a picture so I could take it home to gloat. They even spelled my name correctly.

Today, two days later, I am having an afternoon phone conversation with the very pregnant Em. It went something like this:
Me: I just had lunch--bean soup with Nacho Doritos.
Em:  I was just saying that I wish I had some Doritos!
Me:  The grocery store has them for only $2.21 today. You should go get some.
Em:  Um...
Me:  Yeah, only $2.21.
[silence dragging on and on]
Em:  Um...
Me:  Are you trying to say you don't have $2.21?
Em:  Um...
[more silence]
Me:  Em?
Em:  Um...I think my water just broke.

I nearly threw the phone down, woke Computer Geek from a nap, and drove the 3 blocks to Em's house. She and her hubby packed their bags and I stayed behind to care for the Chunkster. He was quite disturbed to learn that he was being left behind, even though he was carrying around his toddler camp chair saying, "I got my chair. I get in the car. I go too."  He watched Mom and Dad drive away without him, and though he finally cheered up, I couldn't drag him away from the window for a couple of hours.

Ah, those little moments.
Randi acing Jeopardy!
"I think my water just broke."
"I get in the car."

Little snapshots of emotion that in the end, are the things we remember most.