3/29/07

I'm working on my brackets, Mom.




IWOMBM is the new YRMLM. I've pretty much quit ruining my sons' lives now that they are all twentysomethings. They have to decide what classes to take in college, whether to go to grad school, if they should live in the dorm, if they should fall in love, all that stuff. They are making good choices without my help. It nice not hearing any of them say, "You ruined my life, Mom."
<--Exhibit A brackets from the Container Store.

IWMBM* is what I heard during the guys' overlapping spring breaks. Relaxing guys like to lounge on the sofa half-watching Rachael Ray on the Food Network and half-working on their brackets. These "brackets" seem to be for hanging basketballs.

My dad made a bulletin board for the room I shared with my sister. Mom had painted the bedroom a nice light green. She made cute drapes with pink, red, and coral flowers and moss green leaves. She made green bedspreads, and even bought a red rug for between our beds. Dad's part of the room redo was the bulletin board and a desk. He had already built dresser drawers into the closet.

Dad told us the bulletin board would have brackets for hanging shelves. Maybe I had an ear infection, but I kept thinking we would hang shells on the brackets (whatever brackets were). It was worrisome, since I had no seashells to hang. Lincoln, Nebraska is pretty landlocked when it comes to seashells! Did she sell seashells by the seashore? Would that be Dinah Shore selling the seashells? She must have picked them up when she was seeing the USA in her Chevrolet. How would she hang them on her brackets?

Dad eventually finished the desk and bulletin board with its shelves on brackets. They still look great in my old bedroom, even if it isn't green and pink these days. About thirty years later I finally made it to the seashore with my sons and collected lots of shells.

This bracket stuff could be a great way to fiddle away time while Rachael Ray chops the fresh cilantro. Sunday's Dallas Morning News featured brackets from The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything. Who should I choose in Crosswordese vs. Scrabble words? What about C-SPAN vs. pledge drives? Now I just need some EBTDM. Would someone please explain brackets to their dear mom?

* Pronounced "I wim bim".

© 2007 Nancy L. Ruder

1 comment:

Genevieve Netz said...

I have a copy of the "See the USA" songbook. Or maybe it should be called a sing-along book, because there are only words, no music. I think it was a gift from the Chevrolet dealer in 1963, which was the year we got a Chevy Impala.

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