Mac Mini, or Teeth?

I noticed while making the bed the other morning that our bedroom is starting to look like old people live in our house. Two pill bottles on my nightstand and a CPAP machine on my husband’s side is a lot different from how it used to look. And what is it with me making the bed every morning anyhow? I used to straighten the covers right before bedtime which made it a huge chore. Now I do it right after I dress for work. At that time of day it’s easy and takes less than two minutes. Imagine, it took almost fifty years for me to discover that.

People talk about having an inner child when describing certain behaviors. I am convinced my inner child is more like a rebellious teenager. Why did I never make the bed before? When I moved away from home at age 18 I dropped housework like a hot potato, because mother could no longer make me do it. My inner rebellious teen would do things like spoil my appetite with cookies before dinner just because I could. Imagine, even with the rebellious teen in residence I still managed to raise two sons to productive adulthood.

The past few months have been filled with tragedy which stifled my inner rebellious teen, as I was forced through circumstance to behave like a mature, middle-aged woman. Events over the past week have made me cautiously optimistic that the tragedy has at least temporarily ceased, to be replaced with a rediscovered joie de vivre. This is akin to my inner rebellious teen saying “You’re not the boss of me!”

Both my husband and I need dental work, and at our age dental work is not cheap. We have been putting it off for awhile until our debt load was reduced and it finally looks like this year it will be affordable in our budget. What’s to stand in it’s way? Why, my inner rebellious teen of course, who wants a Mac Mini with all the accompanying accouterments; 1.42GHz Power PC G4, 1GB RAM, 80GB Ultra ATA hard drive, Airport extreme, Superdrive, Bluetooth, wireless keyboard and mouse, one of those cute little iSight cameras, and, oh yes, a 20″ cinema display. Would all these things make me happier? Well, it certainly would make my inner rebellious teen happier, as she is a shallow and impulsive person who has long been stifled by her boss, the mature, middle-aged woman. Would it make me happier than, say, having teeth? This is debatable. The mature, middle-aged woman says not. Proper dental care is important to overall good health. The inner rebellious teen, however, avoids webmd like the plague and spends her time clicking through to the Apple Store, whispering in my ear, “Hey, what’s another frivolous few grand added to the debt load?”

I’ll let the debate rage on as I prepare lunch, something soft and easily gummable. No matter who wins, I suppose my mature, middle-aged woman will not be getting through 2005 without spending another few grand or so. And as for my rebellious teen? Well, hopefully if the final decision is teeth, at least she’ll be able to spoil her appetite before dinner.