Loosening Up a Little

As many of you know, the Shaw's live on, what is known by the family as, "the land"... a number of acres all together where three of the Judy siblings live plus some other Judy in-laws. This exposes me to a lot of interaction with Spencer's cousins who are still living at home. Recently I was accused of being too serious and responsible by a 12-year-old cousin-in-law of mine. As I thought on this, it gave me an interesting perspective on how people see me. Granted, he only sees me in limited situations... looking after the kids, cleaning the house, at church, etc. But, maybe he is right. Perhaps I do need to have more fun with stuff and not worry so much about some of the meaningless details. Maybe I need to try to start acting my age a little more. I'm still young, and so I should also be young at heart.
So, tonight I decided to play a little prank. Actually (ironically enough) I chose the above 12-year-old cousin-in-law as the recipient of my prank. He came into the house the other night and left a nice pile of mud right inside the door and a little more a step or two away from the door. We confronted him about it the next morning and he responded with something like, "What? My shoes were muddy from planting the trees." So, tonight I finally cleaned it up. As I cleaned, I thought about this cousin of mine and thought... "He's 12. His mother has taught him to clean up after himself (and I know she has). Why am I doing this?" So, I decided to type up a bill of services for him. I'll be sending it to him tomorrow in a legal sized envelope with his name and address typed on the front. This is what it says:

2-21-2008

To: Name has been blocked to protect the not-so-innocent

At: Address of recipient

ATTENTION: BILL OF SERVICES

From Lilly and Co. Maid Services

There is an unpaid balance due on your account. This payment is due upon receipt of this document. Below is a summary of the services rendered by Lilly and Co. Maid Services and the charges accrued for these services. Please remit payment to the basement offices at:

Our Address appears here

We will accept payment in the form of cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or a personal check (please make checks payable to Crystal Lilly).

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you have already sent payment, we thank you and look forward to serving you in the future.

Thank You,

Collections Department at Lilly and Co.

Service Summary

Service	Charge
Removal of large deposit of mud inside the entrance to the kitchen. (Admittedly from your muddy shoes)	$10.00
Disposal Fee	$2.50
Flat Service Charge	$5.00
Total Bill	$17.50

I hope he enjoys his mail, and even though it's just a joke, maybe it will help him think about being a little more responsible while I contemplate loosening up a little.