Amazingly... size DOES matter.

So let's just recap a bit. My folk's old ginormous TV blew it's guts out with very little drama and a wee bit of humor. I replaced it with a big new flat screen TV that should be large enough to please anyone.

Let's not get hasty.

A couple of weeks went by and I'd stopped in at my parent's house one morning like I do several times each week. There's usually 2 separate conversations taking place coming from my folks, both are almost always directed at me simultaneously. It's like juggling cats and looking up things in the encyclopedia all at once. It can be done, but you can look foolish pretty darn quickly too.

Mom is telling me about getting her haircut at the place where she gets it done and a conversation that took place when she was there the last time. A story about 2 people that I didn't know, but I was listening and nodding my head in the correct places. Meanwhile my Dad is sitting in his chair by the table checking his blood sugar and telling me what the readings were for the past 4 days and why it had spiked and it WASN'T because of that cinnamon bun that he ate, no matter what Shirley says. And I'm nodding in the appropriate spots for that as well. Mom moves on to telling me about something that the dog has drug up in the front yard that looks just awful... and I'm starting to get dizzy from it all.

So, in my "not so best" judgement I change the direction of the conversation in mid stream.

Me: So... how do you guys like your new television?

Dad: *sudden silence*

Mom: *not a peep*

Me: *regretting I had asked*

And then Mom started, but you gotta adjust this for the tone of her voice. It was her "sad and lilting, I'm okay, but not really, but if I use this tone I can answer it anyway I want and my point will be made because I'm using my sad tone" If you've got aging parents, I guarantee you know that tone.

Mom: Oh............ *sigh*...... it's okay.

Dad: Shirley!

Me: Man it smells like bacon in here! Did you guys have bacon for breakfast? I love bacon! Did you get that hickory smoked kind that HyVee sells? Man that is THE BEST bacon around. Yup I love bacon!


The clever ploy failed.


Mom: It's smaller.

Me: *giving in* Smaller than what?

Dad: Shirley!

Everytime Dad says "Shirley" I supress a giggle, 'cause I know she's not gonna stop no matter how bad Dad wants her to. LOL

Mom: I't smaller than the other TV, our old one.

Me: Mom, it's only 2 inches narrower.

Mom: It's smaller. It's shorter too.

Dad: Shirley!

Me: LOL

Me some more: Mom, it's called letterbox, that's the new format for all the new tv's now.

Mom: I don't think I like it.

Me: Didn't you notice how much nicer the picture is?

Mom: *doing this answer in 2 syllables* Ye...sss. But it's smaller.

Dad: Yeah we had bacon this morning. I sure like that HyVee bacon.

Me: Yup, that's some dandy bacon Pop.

Mom: *Leaves the room*

Dad: It's fine, I like the TV just fine... but it IS smaller.

LOL Eh boy...

I love my folks, but some days it's just real interesting anymore.