Makin’ A List

I didn’t need much at Dick’s Market this afternoon, but I did write myself a list. As you probably already know, it’s a Law of Nature that no matter how hard you try to make a complete grocery list, and no matter how diligently you read your list at the store, you will get back home and discover you forgot something. You will always overlook at least one thing that is written plain as day on your list. Also, your list will never have everything you need to buy written on it. Part of the reason for this snafu is that there is never just one list. You start a list, then you promptly misplace it, so you start another list. And so on. If you can find the first list you wrote, that’s a gift from the universe.

After you think you are done with your shopping list, you will certainly think of a few last minute additions, and you will think to yourself, “Oh, I’m too busy to write that down right now. I’m sure I’ll remember that item.” Which you won’t.

As I scribbled the indecipherable-to-anyone-but-me words which were my grocery items, I felt like I was forgetting something. I had been craving something earlier in the day, but I could not remember exactly what it was. Skitter saved the day, though. When I was telling her where I was going and when I’d be back, she all-knowingly said, “It’s Bow Tie o’ the Day, you twit!” And she was right, of course. I wanted Skittles. Bow Ties are sneaky that way. When you put one on, you generally can’t see what it’s up to. So don’t count on your bow tie to remind you of anything you need at the grocery store.

[Please note that my pencil critter is wearing a red bow tie. Of course.]

Finally! A Church Bow Tie Again!

I realized I hadn’t posted a Church Bow Tie o’ the Sabbath for quite some time, so yesterday I made sure to gussy up my attire for “watching” church. My nephew, Bishop Travis, was speaking, and I took extra care in choosing the appropriate bow tie for the occasion—as I always do. I decided to wear my black, 3D-printed bow tie. It’s simple and yet sophisticated. Its tips are also very sharp. I would not have worn this to the meeting if I had attended in-person, for fear Gracie would have poked a hole in her hand if she touched it. But I thought it a fitting bow tie for attending church online from my love seat, because the thing about Bishop Travis’ talks is that they—like Bow Tie—always have a point. In fact, his talks are filled with lots of points—each layered like parables. You understand what you are able to, and you chew on what you can’t understand, until you finally understand that too. Like any good parable, it’s nourishing when your spirit hungers, time and again. The larder of a good parable is never empty.