Who's Harold?

[copied from dland]

First, a note to the empress, since it seems we cannot comment to each other anymore. Last time I tried to comment to you, I got a message that I was a poopy butt, or a poopy head or something poop related. Didn't know until now that you couldn't comment me, either. No clue there on my part.

I was a bit cranky when I got home and so was K, it seemed, so I avoided her and went to ShopRite, and now she's fine, although we're both very tired due to bad sleeping last night. Yes, I spoke too soon about getting three good nights' sleep in a row. Last night, after trying unsuccessfully to sleep on the couch -- at one point, Boo came into the room and stood next to the couch and the smell woke me up -- I put on the headphones and the go-to-sleep music and it did not block out the sound of the Hubs' snoring and teeth grinding. Ever wonder why sometimes older couples no longer sleep in the same bed? Yeah, I don't wonder so much anymore. Either that or I'll get the whole bed to myself when I kill him in his sleep one night.

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Half hour later. Okay, maybe I won't kill him. I just got an email from his blackberry -- he's at a seminar tonight -- that says "Blast from the past. I was just chatting with Harold Rubenstein." Who, you may ask, is Harold Rubenstein?

Folks, this is one of my all-time favorite Good Shirl stories. Here goes.

Back in the day, I went to graduate school full time at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and I lived in a dorm on campus. The Hubs -- at that time, The Boyfriend -- lived at home here in Bizarro Town with his parents and commuted to Rutgers Law School in Newark, Newark being about halfway between New Brunswick and B.T. Shortly after he started, he became friendly with a guy named Harold Rubenstein, who, it so happened, went to the law school but lived on campus in New Brunswick because he was some kind of dorm counselor. So he would be in class with the Hubs during the day and sometimes have dinner with me in the dining hall. Very nice, outgoing guy.

So the Hubs was coming to visit me one weekend, and Shirl casually asked where he would be staying and I said "Oh, with Harold," and I explained who Harold was. She was okay with that, but of course, he never stayed with Harold at all.

Harold did not come to our wedding for some reason, but shortly after we were married, we were having a little party one evening (when I still did such things) and I was telling Shirl about the planning and such, and she asked who was invited. I named this person and that and I said "And Harold." And she said "Harold? Who's Harold?"

I said "You remember, the Hubs' friend from law school who lived on campus near me. Harold."

And her eyes got huge and she said "YOU MEAN HE'S REAL???"

So yes, folks, in some ways my mother was a Totally Cool Mom. She had her moments, but you gotta love a mom like that, eh?


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1343