Lee-Anne's Birthday

Friday was Lee-Anne's birthday. We don't have a ritual of exchanging gifts on these days, but this time I made an effort. She hadn't asked for anything, and was surprised when I let her know I'd gotten something. While she didn't ask what it was, she put forward a lot of questions to narrow down what it could be.

"Would my mother like it?"

"She's never given the impression that she would, but it would be of her generation, so she might"

"Would my grandmother know how to operate it?"

"Since she knows how to use a TV, I assume so"

"Would my youngest brother like it?" (I'm omitting names for the sake of the post"

"He seems sentimental, so if he ever had one of these in the past, he might like it"

"Would my second-oldest brother like it?"

"No, he'd think it was outdated"

It was a clock radio. I've been transparent since the "I'm Diabetic" post, so I guess I'll admit to the fact that we had a cockroach infestation last year. We had exterminators come over, and it's been many months since we've seen a roach, but while they were around they occupied and destroyed Lee-Anne's radio. Now that that danger has passed, it seemed right to bring it back.

She loves to fall asleep while listening to the radio. She had programmed a setting that let it run for half an hour and then turn off, which was helpful to me because I absolutely cannot fall asleep while it's on.

After the roaches destroyed her radio, she found an app for her phone that gave access to all the same options, including one that gave a delayed shut-off time. But since she's a sentimental person, I had the feeling that she would appreciate having an actual radio. It also serves as an alarm clock, and since she's legally blind, I got one with a large display of the time.

She seemed to like it! She mentioned that she should have asked if her father would like the gift, since he's the only other person in her family with a specific fondness for radio.

I was surprised that there were as many options for radios as there were, since I thought it was a mostly outdated technology. Before choosing the one that I did for her, I ordered another one. It had a smaller display and didn't have an alarm clock setting, but could play CDs.

I was recently surprised to learn that CDs are still being developed. I was in Wal Mart at one time, and I noticed their CD section. There was one for "Encanto Songs", which is a modern Disney flick, and there was one with a visual of someone wearing a facemask, symbolizing production during the pandemic.

I cheated my diet for Lee-Anne's birthday as well. We went to a local place that specializes in deep dish pizza. I justify this because I have to see my doctor every three months, and I just saw her last week, so if I cheat my diet I have three months to recover and correct before having to report on my health