We are here to ___ : Pavlov, Mulder & Scully, plus a couple pretty pics.

A question, an answer, an answer to an answer.

Anything special you’d like to do today?
I asked our daughter.

Go to Europe,
she said without hesitation.

Okay.
I said.
We can talk about that after lunch and dance party.

Parents and Pavlov.

One of my fave, absolute fave things, is returning home and seeing our daughter go through certain rituals. This one is the one that makes me smile the biggest:

she goes over to the computer, taps it awake, opens up Spotify, and starts up the music.

If it’s morning, it’s Classical or Jazz.

If it’s afternoon or evening, it’s any number of playlists, including but not limited to ABBA, Mates of State, George Ezra, or the Beatles.

Because she knows our house is meant to be filled with love, with conversation, and with music.

All three.

Ringtones and David Duchovny.

Joseph messily eating breakfast at The Blythe Cricket with Rachel and some kid.

Occasionally I dream of spending an entire day sitting on a couch, doing something entirely unnecessary (besides watching quality trash television; that is a more-than-occasional dream). Something like creating custom ringtones for my favourite 100 contacts.

I’ve only gotten as far as two. One of them is my sister-in-law, and it’s a science-fiction sounding ring that is vaguely reminiscent of The X-Files, a show that we discussed several times over the years but never actually watched together, discounting the one time we made twenty minutes into the pilot before falling asleep. I speak to her infrequently anymore, but when the phone rings and it’s the eery chime cycling through its phase…it makes me think of Fox and Scully and her. Of course it makes me think of her, because it is her, and talking to her has made me happy many times over the years. But she’s gone now, like The X-Files, and the better version of The X-Files (that would be Fringe). I sometimes get happy being reminded of things that were once were. And sometimes sad.

We are here to do something and that is ___ (see below).

“We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.”

― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country