Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?

I love my family.

We have so much fun together, and I love hanging out with my brothers and sisters AND my parents. Seriously. How many people can say that and mean it?

Tonight my mom made dinner for Doodle, Teep, M, Big Dad and I.

(It was a fabulous chicken stew with biscuits, in case you were wondering.)

During dinner we began talking about some of our individual plan for our respective lawns and were asking Teep for some advice. He has worked as a landscaper in the past and is a bit of a “Garden Guru”. Doodle, Mom and I were all wondering about costs and needs to aerate a lawn, and Teep was explaining the process and costs involved through the company he works for.

Just as he was wrapping up his advice, the door bell rang. My mom stood to answer it, but Big Dad offered to go and made his way to the front. The dog was barking like crazy, so Big Dad stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him.

We has just started talking about something else when my dad came hurrying back from the front foyer.

Dad: “Mom! Quick! It’s a woman from some company offering to aerate the lawn!”

Doodle: “What? Seriously?!”

She leapt up from her chair and hurried to the door to inquire about the price, and I happened to look through the patio doors and saw a  woman in an dirty yellow sweatshirt wandering around the backyard. She looked a little disoriented, but made her way back to the front.

A few minutes later my parents returned to the table. Big Dad was laughing, and Mom had a bit of a bewildered expression on her face.

Doodle: “Well? How much was it?”

Dad: “I’m not even sure. She offered to aerate the lawn on the spot, but she had such a thick accent that I couldn’t tell if she was offering the service for $15 or $50. That’s why I got your mom.”

Doodle: “So, what did she say?”

Mom: “She said she normally does the whole lawn for $75, but she could do it for $50 today. I said ‘No way’ as we had just finished talking about how it can be done for $30.”

Me: “So then what did she say?”

Mom: “She thought for a second then told me she could do it for $30… but that I’d also have to feed her.”

Doode, Teep, M & I: “…WHAT?!”

(Cue Big Dad’s explosion of laughter.)

Mom: “Seriously! She said, ‘I’ll do it for $30, but you’ll have to give me something to eat. I’m hungry.’ She said something about being tired and working hard but it was difficult to make out. At first I didn’t think that she was being serious, but she didn’t laugh! It was so awkward that I just declined the service.”

Doodle: “You should have done it! Just give her a cookie and call it even! haha!”

…I wonder if she would have taken the whole payment in food? ;)