It Will Always Be Stop N Shop To Me

There's a gas station/convenience store in our neighborhood that's been here since the 70s. It's the only gas station on this side of town. It's right around the corner from the school I attended for 12 years.

When I was in school, it was called Stop N Shop. It was THE place to gather for after school snacks. And they had those little chocolate footballs wrapped in orange foil...which just so happened to be a school color!

When we moved back here in 1997, Stop N Shop was still there but the name had changed. I think it was Sunrise Pantry. Later, it changed to Flash Foods. The Hero, not knowing the original name, would refer to its current name and I'd never know what he was talking about. I finally convinced him to just call it by it's original name, Stop N Shop, like everyone else does and will do until eternity.

Ok. Follow me here bc I'm switching gears but it does tie together. We've got the garage closed in and are working feverishly on finishing...maybe by the end of the year? Or decade? So, what used to be the garage door is now our future bedroom door. Now, we exit the house through the den and those gorgeous new french doors instead of through the kitchen/garage door.

It occurred to me this week that now we have no more beside the door. My purse stays beside the door. The dh's work cells,wallet, and general manpocket things go beside the door every evening.

"Put the library books beside the door so we won't them. "
"Put the keys beside the door so they won't get lost.
"Put Mema's dishes beside the door so she'll grab them next time she's here."
"Put Butter's shoes beside the door so he won't be barefooted at church again."

Besides the fact that we've all been caught trying to leave the house through the ex-garage door, we've all been putting things beside the door this week. This is a problem I'm going to have to solve. How do I create a beside the door in the den?

We have an island table in our kitchen that was once red. I painted it green. But before I painted it green, we referred to it as The Red Table. Well, we still refer to it as The Red Table . And it hasn't been red for three years. Once in awhile I'll refer to it as The Table Formerly Known as Red. The funny thing is that everyone in this family knows exactly what The Red Table is. And it doesn't seem strange to them that it isn't even red.

And here's another one. For years, we had an under the counter cd player in the kitchen. Under the cd player is where the pencil cup is, cook books, stamps, and other various and sundry items one might look for. A year or so ago, my Hero replaced this cd player with a cool ipod player. Well, guess what. If someone is looking for something in that general vicinity and they ask me, I still say, "Look under the cd player." And the poor things know exactly where to look.

I think it's safe to say that I'm a creature of habit....and bringing the kids along for the very boring ride.....as soon as I get my purse from beside the door and my cell phone off The Red Table so I can drive them to Stop N Shop for an icee.