Most days, we wake up (in separate houses) and wonder what weird and wacky thing the day will bring us. This is especially true on days when we have a plan. We're good at making plans. We make plans that could really easily happen if say, you know, there was not traffic, or a too long phone call, or a fire, or if neither of us were either of us. Today, we had a plan. We were both going to be in Burbank at the same time and if that isn't an excuse to meet for lunch, I don't know what is. I was headed to IKEA with my friend and Karen was headed to the airport with her kids to drop off our cousin. We planned to meet for lunch at an easy enough place to get to, then we all got the opportunity to practice patience and a sense of humor. This was the first time Karen was going to meet my friend and you know there was no way that was going to happen without some typical sisterly weirdness. We're used to the oddness that happens when we share the same space but we try to not let it rub off on other people. We try. When it was obvious that Karen and her car full of laughter were going to be way late (no great shock there), she suggested we meet at a Sizzler closer to the airport. My friend found our way to the Sizzler that time forgot (hasn't time forgotten all Sizzler restaurants?), which was good, because even though we were on time, I was lost. There you have it~ our lives in a nutshell. Karen is always late and I am always lost.
We order some burgers, push a couple tables together and wait for Karen. While we wait, we look around. Not a very pretty sight. It was hard to believe we were still in Southern California with the amount of diners wearing t-shirts printed with giant cat face images on the front and tucked into elastic waist stretchy pants. The women didn't look that hot, either.
Karen and the kids and our cousin finally arrive and while Karen is ordering their burgers, the kids begin to act like, well, kids.That part would normally be fine with me, but it was first impression time with my friend. Like any normal brother and sister, they had to talk over each other, correct each other, giggle with each other, then loosen the lids on the salt and pepper shakers. Ahhh, it reminded me of our youth. Of course I felt compelled to apologize to my friend despite the fact that this really IS our reality. Our plans always do get messed up. The kids really are kids. And, my sister and I really do laugh at everything. We even laughed when the waitress apologized for the delay in bringing the kids their burgers because they had to go kill the cow. We laughed when Karen's dear son ran to the bathroom with an odd look on his face, and we laughed when Karen's daughter pointed out to our male cousin that he was really the only one capable of going to the men's room to check on her brother.
And if that wasn't enough laughter, when the day was over, we called each other to laugh about it.
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