We've got some real Friday night excitement going on here: the young man is upstairs ironing shirts and the old guy is in the kitchen baking bread. I'm just goofing off. Technically, I'm supervising the ironing process, but the kid seems to have picked up the technique pretty quickly, so I'm supervising from a distance. Is there any better way to spend a Friday night?
I am ashamed to admit that this is the first time my 17-year-old son has taken iron in hand. I've mentoned it a few times in the past only to encounter a solid wall of resistance, and I already spend enough time banging my head against various walls so I didn't push it. This week, though, it came to light that the young man had forgotten to return his prom tux to the rental shop last weekend despite being reminded repeatedly to do so, and he was facing a largeish extra charge if it didn't get returned by noon Tuesday. I agreed to return the tux on my lunch hour provided that he compensate for the inconvenience by doing something nice for me. Hence, he irons.
For the old guy, bread-baking is just a normal part of his Friday-night routine. He mixes dough long into the night, leaves it to rise for a few hours, and gets up at 4 or 5 a.m. to put the loaves in the oven in time to get them to the Farmer's Market by 8. I understand that there are other possible ways to spend a Friday night and perhaps one day we'll experience them, but for now, the old guy bakes, the young guy irons, and I supervise.
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