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The Eclectic Pen - The Initation

By: IONE L. (zaneygraylady)   + 85 more  
Date Submitted: 2/2/2007
Last Updated: 2/5/2007
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs » Memoirs
Words: 707
Rating:

One summer a few years ago my son Eli met a girl Christy at Sandy Pines, a nearby resort. Eli was eighteen and living at home. He was working at McDonald's and hadn't started college yet as he was still trying to find himself as many kids that age do. All I knew about Christy was that she was cute, blond and came from a Dutch family. Also she was only fifteen years old. She lived an hour away in Hudsonville Michigan. We lived in Kalamazoo. I also came from a Dutch background as many in this part of Michigan do. To my mother's disappointment my husband Dave didn't. Dave was a fast talking New Yorker with English and Irish heritage. We had a teenage girl Kilah and boy Asa still living at home and another boy Jesse away at college. I was glad Eli found a nice Dutch girl although I was concerned about her young age. Since there was such a long distance between them I assumed it would just be a summer fling. It soon became apparent from my phone bills and Eli's frequent trips to Hudsonville that this was Eli's first serious relationship. After a few months of commuting to Christy's house Eli decided it was time for her to meet our family. He wanted us to make a good impression but was nervous. Eli warned all of us to be on our best behavior. He had a good reason to be concerned because I would say our family dynamic was more like Bart Simpson's than the Waltons. Eli was especially worried about me because for some reason all my kids think I'm eccentric. He wanted the house to be picked up which was reasonable, but he also asked me to clean his room which was always a mess. I thought he had alot of nerve asking me to clean his room since he left me with a pile of dishes every night and never picked up for himself. I emphatically told him no, I wouldn't clean his room: he should do it himself and couldn't be in there alone with Christy anyway. Eli replied he didn't have time to clean his room and agreed to keep the door open. He begged me to please clean it for him. I finally relented but decided I'd have some fun in the meantime. I would also decorate his room. First I covered his mini blinds with lace curtains. Then I found a flowery quit in the attic and replaced his bedspread with it. I also placed some pretty pillows on the bed. Next I put a large doily on his nightstand and placed a stained glass lamp on top of that. I hung some of my flower prints on the wall and added a couple of house plants to the room. I replaced the books on his bookshelf with some of my romance novels. I took his Star Wars videos and substituted The Secret Garden, My Fair Lady and some other musicals. I added a few more doilies and knick-knacks around the room including my angel collection. The final touch was a cross-stich welcome sign on his door. The room looked beautiful. Finally the unsuspecting couple arrived. Christy was as pretty as Eli had discribed her. As I promised Eli, I was on my best behavior as I graciously showed her around the house. We finally arrived at Eli's room and when I opened his door Eli's face turned white with shock. "Mom, what did you do to my room?" Eli demanded "Well you asked me to clean it for you" I inocently replied. Christy didn't say a word. She just had a bewildered look on face. Eli and Christy continued their long distance relationship until she moved to Kalamazoo to attend Western Michigan Unifersity with Eli. They are married now and she is the mother of my beautiful blond-haired blue-eyed Dutch grandaughter Chloe. I knew Christy was a keeper that day when she passed my initiation.

The Eclectic Pen » All Stories by IONE L. (zaneygraylady)

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