We all have that one person in our lives that is in complete denial about their hearing. Most of the time it’s an aging relative you see at the holidays and they don’t really care what you are saying anyway. Sometimes it’s a neighbor you greet at the mailbox and end up repeating yourself for the next 20 minutes. But in my case, that person is Rob. The person I live on top of in a 16 square foot home on wheels. I find myself shouting after the 42nd “Huh?” in a row. And sometimes I don’t even answer after the dreaded “What?” And it’s not just me he can’t hear. Perfect strangers that aren’t even talking to him he asks me “What did they just say?”
For instance the girl behind us in a booth at dinner, “My father says I have doe eyes.” Rob looks at me and screams at the top of his lungs “Goat eyes? Did she just say she has goat eyes?” Because what’s worse than eavesdropping on your neighbors at dinner? Yelling their conversation across the restaurant that you just misunderstood, of course.
This list can go on and on, but here’s a good one from our last adventure.
I’m not big on shopping. Too many choices, too many people, and the clothes never fit quite right. I’m full of disappointment before I ever even leave the house, which in turns makes shopping with me super fun. You should try it sometime. Ironically enough, we were in Pendleton, Oregon and I decided to go into a second hand store. Up and down the aisles I go, picking through items other people decided no longer belonged in their home. From housewares to clothing, it was a treasure trove of things I hadn’t seen in years. I enjoyed it so much I went back after we had lunch, finding new treasures I had missed on my first pass through. I had a special gift I was looking for. My oldest sister moved from Pendleton, IN and now lives in Florida and has apparently taken up collecting Pendleton items. So my mission was to find an item that says Pendleton, but not Pendleton, OR in Pendleton, OR. 🤦🏻♀️Our kinda special runs in the family as you can see. I can’t tell you if I found anything or not because I think she reads these things. And what I may or may not have found, may or may not be a Christmas gift for her. Anyway, my point is, at nearly every town we stopped in from that point forward, I stopped at their local second hand stores. I have picked up an item or 2 here and there along the way.
On our trek back across the country, we stopped to eat a this little pub and eatery in Missouri. Our table sat in front of 2 full length windows and low and behold across the street was a thrift shop! I smiled with delight at the potential this place may have. I turned to Rob and said, “I think thrift shops may be my new thing.” Any takers on what you think he may have heard and repeated very loudly right back at my face?
“Fly strips.” He heard fly strips are my new thing. Makes perfect sense.
Oregon is, by far, our favorite state in the union. We can’t wait to go back.
