The Value of Clarity and Definition

I am having trouble reconciling in my mind a few things this evening:

1) That my 83-year-old Mamaw is on Facebook and is hyuckin' it up with people from the opposite side of the family every night. She's on it right now.

2) That she is actively farming on Farmville.

3) That she sent me a jello shot this evening.

To be clear, she doesn't know what it is....

but thought I,

a non-drinker and non-jello-er,

would enjoy it.

She doesn't know exactly what she is sending but she is passing it along to her "friends" and underage grandkids? She doesn't drink! Most of my family doesn't drink as a general rule. Why is the matriarch of this family lining the road of temptation with jello shots? I have no words.

Let me tell you what this is like... (Please bear with me as the situational details may not be exactly accurate due to poor memory, but the punchline definitely happened.)

A few years ago (like 20 -25), my family was preparing to take a family ski trip to Colorado. We would go for Spring Break every year and stay the week. We would stay in a condo and bring grandparents (you know, the one sending jello shots now) and have a grand time. Well, the week before we were to leave, my sister was at school and they were having a share time of discussing Spring break plans and it was her turn to discuss. She begins...

"Well, we are going to Colorado and we get to go skiing and I don't have to go to ski school this time and Mamaw and Papaw are going and the best part is that we get to stay in a condom."

That is not a typo.

This stemmed from the time that she heard the word "condom" and proceeded to ask Dad what it was. At her age, it was probably not the best time to share the exact function of that item. In the days leading up to that question, we had been talking about the trip to Colorado and been discussing the housing situation and inevitably the word "condo" came up and so...

He just went with it.

"Ummmm... that ..... ummmm.... is ahhhh.... that is the thing..... that is the ... PLACE THAT WE STAY IN COLORADO."

I know, you don't even have to say it. He wasn't really going to use that conversation as a teaching lesson but honestly, the bluntness of the question caught him off guard and he just said it.

Unfortunately, he forgot to say "just kidding" and she proceeded to tell her class that we were all going to get to stay in one.

Yeah for us!

The point... BE SURE you know what you are talking about and/or sending out before sharing with your friends or family. Also, be clear as to when you are joking and when you are not.
You never know when it will come back to haunt you...

This includes jello shots, Mamaw.