And speaking of ‘sweet’…

I’ve been getting quite a few calls from my son Todd lately – always fun – because he's been planning to cook an elegant dinner for his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. We've been exchanging recipes, I guess. First it was about ‘menu planning’ then the actual recipe (had to get MY mother involved in that one since my recipe books are home in Kentucky along with everything else) then shopping considerations, then back to menu (appetizers, this time) and the corresponding recipe for the appetizers. There were calls about quality and source of ingredients (halibut and crab) and whether to add dill to the salmon spread since she likes dill. Does it get cooked with the lid on or off? How fine should the onion be chopped?

We had a grand time. I hope she appreciated it (and him) and that they had a nice evening. I’ll probably never know.

Which is fine.

We may not be living in the same state (haven’t done so for 6 ½ years now) but we connect on the little things that make it seem like the old day-to-day contact we had when he was younger. He calls when he has something funny to say, or has a success to report, or when he is sick or bummed about something. He calls with all kinds of questions that probably anyone else could answer, and I know he is just letting me be involved – because he knows I want to be. He’s asked for driving directions– “I’m at X intersection and know there should be a ‘Target’ store nearby – could you look it up on the internet?” Which is better, liquid laundry soap or powdered? Should I still try to have a one-page resume, leaving out some internships, or is it OK to go to two pages? Or one of my favorites: “Guess where I am right now?” He’s called from mountaintops, concert seats, hot dog stands, museums. Great fun.

(And I guess I have the invention of the cell phone to thank for some of this, much as I hate to give credit to the evil device...)

There is a job fair on his campus this weekend - I'm bound to get some calls around THAT topic. Can't wait!