There is always something a little off at Boxes in Fields.  Sure the majority of the oddness comes from the residents, but to be fair, we came by it naturally.  Genetically even.  Today a packaged arrived from my mom. The outside box was addressed to me but I let the Kid open it.  When the inside package was discovered the Kid muttered something along the lines of what a dork, my whole family is crazy.  As it was under his breath and it could not be heard clearly over the radio nor he did not wish to repeat, I will never know for certain what he said.  As he passed the wrapped box forward for inspection both the Planner and I laughed.  Laughed as in tears rolling down the face, stomach hurting laughs.  Now the Kid is really thinking his family is not fully on their rocker.  He could not understand what was so funny.  Unable to explain my mom to him, I just had to enjoy the wrapping paper myself.

My mom was a firm believer in standing out of the crowd.  “Why buy wrapping paper when we can make wrapping paper?”, she’d say.  Don’t get me wrong there was always store bought wrapping paper she had purchased from a child’s school support gimmick. This paper was extra thick and was only used on nonfamily members. “Non-Family”.  Family, and I say family in the loose sense of the meaning, was gifted in DIY craft paper.  And this was WAY before DIY craft paper took hold.  What if the gift was bigger than the recycled paper bag from the grocery store? Use multiple brown paper bags taped together on the inside.  If needed, and used sparsely, was butcher paper.  Butcher paper was her favorite as it was white and made for better decorations. Bows and other decorations were saved and used from year to year to year.  Wrapping and tissue paper from other peoples gifts were collected, folded neatly, saved and then used from year to year to year.  I swear there are ribbons and wrappings and cards in the gift box she had been storing since 1972. Waste not, want not.  At some point in my teenage years, I took this oddity to heart and always tried to make the best of what was available.  It required some major outside the box thinking.  Major, major outside thinking.  In hindsight homemade paper was (and is) better than store-bought wrapping paper.

Upon opening the gift, the Kid once again was left pondering his family and what a normal family looked and acted like.  As he passed me the gift he said, “there was a ferrying charge”.  Ferrying Fees!  Love me some ferrying fees. Have you heard of them? When the Kid was little I would make his lunch and always charge a ferrying fee.  Sometimes the fee was a bite of his PB&J sandwich, sometimes it was a  bite of his celery/carrot/cucumber stick.  It was never the string cheese or the crackers as they were prepackaged.  If it was made at home, it incurred a ferrying fee.  This ferrying fee held as he went to pre-school, kinder, and even summer camps.  This is still a weekly occurrence.  Lunch is made on the weekend, it is almost guaranteed there will be a ferrying fee. It started as a reminder for during the day when he was gone that I loved him. Now I do it because it annoys him. Hehehe.

As I was saying…  When he said ferrying fee I assumed he took a piece of candy.  As he handed me the box of candy he once again he looked at me like I a little off in the brain as he squawked about not eating candy before breakfast.  Upon inspection of the candy box, it all became clear.  No further explanation needed.  Mom had charged us a ferrying fee!  What was even better was ferrying fees was not something my mother did when I young.  This was kwinky dink ferrying fees. Great minds…

Ferrying Fees.  You should start them, it is never too late. In looking through the ten thousand pictures this was the only picture I have of ferrying fees and this is from April 2016.  Gonna have to take a current picture with his current reactions.  Here he still finds it funny.  Now, he finds it annoying.  The Kid may think his family is a little off but as time goes along he will appreciate the oddity of his family.  Hopefully.  Besides, if you can’t beat them, join them…

Other things that are little off at Boxes in Fields is the weather. Last year it was cold before Halloween and then in the ’30s before the year’s end.  Now the second week into 2019 and we are wearing shorts and flowers are blooming.  We, as in the Planner, the Kid, and myself. Not only am I wearing shorts during the middle of the day when it is the warmest, I am wearing shorts at mornings’ rise.  Last January we had endless days of freezing temperatures and plants living inside the Rainstream.  This year flowers are blooming and trees are starting to bud.  Budding trees are flowers are bad this early in the year as a freeze is still very possible.  Maybe even two freezes as there has not been a hard freeze yet.  If the temperatures continue at this rate, summer will be record-setting and hurricanes are guaranteed.  Ugh. Come on Jack Frost.

Controlling genetics and the weather is impossible.  If something is a little off with the weather and genetics, there is absolutely nothing to be done.  Choosing your friends, however, and their sanity level is totally in control of something that is a little off….

Normal (adj) is conforming to a  standard, usual, typical, or expected. Normal varies on a case to case basis.  For most people receiving a card in the mail is normal.  A normal card it would have been had it been a normal “Hi, How are you?” card.  This was anything but a normal card. Coming from the Caretaker herself, a card of this fashion it was to be expected.  She is anything but normal and it is the best. Even better than the card from her was the fact that there was a whole marketing team who decided this card was worth putting into production.  Next time they produce a card of this high quality, they should invest in a louder speaker!  To top of the fantastic Holiday card was the delivery date.  Postmarked before Thanksgiving, the card was delivered just yesterday.  Almost two months to go from the post office in town to the local mail center in town less than 1/2 mile away.  Cause nothing is ever normal.

For those who want normalcy, desire normally, and think they have normalcy, I say to you something is a little off with you.  NOTHING is ever normal as there is no standard of normal.  Normal is a normal as you make it.  If everything was normal life would be dull.  Given the choice between normal and something a little off, Boxes in Fields will take something’s a little off.  Having something little off makes for a great story!