The
other day I was tearing around the kitchen looking for a container.
Simple story… Terry was bringing some things in to work with her,
brownies and cupcakes if you must know, and I needed to find her
something for the cupcakes.
The
more I looked, the more frustrated I was getting, and as I began
rattling off ideas for any possible alternatives I found myself
daydreaming a bit about my childhood. I recalled how often an
old clothing box from a department store might be brought in to
service for transporting a dozen or so cupcakes or muffins from
point a to point b.
Eventually
my wife reminded me that we had some containers in the basement.
One of them was… because, of course… a container with a tray inside
intended for cupcakes. But I kept wondering about those old clothing
boxes.
Remember
them? Seems like those were the days where every time you were
making a purchase in a department store you’d ask if they had
a box for it. You’d use it for gift wrapping. (And the identifying
of it by the recipient was the giveaway on a birthday or holiday
that the next gift was likely not quite as exciting… a shirt or
pants, and definitely not a two-foot-high robot with launchable
fists or rockets.)
Another
thing we did in those days was use paper bags from grocery stores
and repurpose them for covering schoolbooks. And, for another,
we took boxes that might have been used for new dress shirts,
were absolutely clean, and reused them for transporting food to
a party.
More
than I care to admit, I find myself walking around the house wondering
what I’m walking around the house for.
I’ve
forgotten.
I’ve
barely moved five feet. I got out of the chair at the table, began
walking toward the refrigerator, and before I even get to the
fridge I have no idea why I was heading to it.
Usually,
my problem is that I’m walking around, looking for something to
put another thing in, and have no clue where that thing might
be. Unfortunately, increasing the problems, I usually have no
clue if we even have what I’m looking for.
Something
for cupcakes? I have no idea where the right size container is
for the leftovers from dinner… can’t remember where I put the
empty box for Christmas lights after I decorated now that I’m
taking the lights down and want to store them again… couldn’t
tell you if we have any more bulbs for the outside light fixture…
and will stare at you as if I didn’t hear the question while wondering
where the blanket I took off the bed when I changed the sheets
might be now that I’m making it.
Something
for cupcakes? Yeah… that’s funny.
A
few months ago, one of my sisters and her family gave me a tremendous
gift. It was a six-month subscription to one of those monthly
boxes. This particular one involves snacks from around the world…
different country each month, and it is really cool.
The
part of the gift that truly fascinates me, for reasons I still
don’t understand, is the shipping box. It’s a quality box. Nice
size. Seemed really versatile the first time I saw it… seemed
really versatile every time after… and still makes me shake my
head when it arrives now. Kind of box you don’t break down because
you just know you’ll use it for something because it’s a really
good box. I’m just at a loss for what that might be.
Oh…
wait… of course… cupcakes! It would be perfect for a dozen cupcakes.
(Except…
we have a container for that already.)