Who Are You And What Did You Do With My Son?

Tim drove to Juniper yesterday to bring Nate home.  Did you hear that?  Nate is home!  I love that he loves the farm, but I also love that I get to see his face!

But something strange has happened in his absence.  He's done the dishes two times today...without being asked.  He's been pretty quiet about it.

It goes something like this:

Nate enters the kitchen and opens the dishwasher and starts loading it.

Mom: Oh, are you looking for something?


Nate:  Nope.


Mom:  Are you doing the dishes?


Nate:  Yup.


Mom:  Oh.  (pause)  Thank you.  


(Another longer pause)

Mom:  Do you want something?  (...Kicked myself for asking, but seriously, what 16 year old just walks in the kitchen and starts loading the dishwasher?)

Nate:  Nope.


Dang farm work ethic...  It's messing with my brain!

Then later in the day I heard clanking of dishes in the kitchen and walked in to see Nate unloading and loading the dishwasher.  (Yes, we really do go through that many dishes around here.)

Me:  You're doing dishes again?


Nate:  Yup.

Me:  Wow.  I'm impressed.

Nate smiles while trying not to smile...something he's pretty good at.

...Signing off now (still a little suspicious but happy with the empty sink in the kitchen).