Keep this song in your Mason jars

Darling young ones. I just wrote about this song on mine and Nathan's blog. I noted that it does make me feel like I'm home, but I didn't explain that that is because it reminds me of you, The Six Girls with Whom I Share a Pickle.

It sounds like something we would dance to in Housewood's living room late on an autumn night. But even more telling, it mentions Mason jars, which are so us.
That post-grad Club Mix I've been promising? It was just waiting for this song.

Relief Upon Homecoming Leads Young Woman to Behave Oddly

As many of you know, yesterday I drove back to Tennessee after spending the weekend in Arkansas. I got to spend one night each with Jenna and Taylor, and I also got to behold the glorious matrimony of Vincent and Alia Smith-Wagner. (This took place at sunset in a glass chapel in the woods - Alia was a vision, Vince was princely, Hannah was so lovely, and everything was perfect.)

It was a wonderful but exhausting weekend. I was so tired by Sunday that I had to shamefacedly change plans and head straight back to Nashville from LR, rather than going back up to Searcy to see our beloved Lorie and Nathan. I think that, and the knowledge that Jared was probably flying over my head in the opposite direction, added a bit of sadness to my tiredness.

At the end of a long and strange drive, during which a bored young guy in a back seat had wriggled around to grin and blow me a kiss as his car slowly passed by, I was starved. All I wanted was evening breakfast at Fido. So as Nashville drew near, I called JoJo, my coffee-excursion pal, to see if she wanted to join me. She said she did, so after that I called Fido (I had put their number in my phone some weeks ago for just such an occasion) and asked the all-important question: whether they were still serving breakfast.

"Fido, this is Brandon."

"Hi, I was wondering if you guys are still serving breakfast at this time," I chirped. I was so excited at the concept I could barely contain myself.

"Yes, we serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day for as long as the kitchen is open," he said. I think I was going for something like, That's why Fido is great.

But I said, "That's why I love you."

"I love you too, even though I haven't met you," said Brandon.

I laughed and said "See you later!"

So I met JoJo at one of the tables in the back part, and we were shortly joined by Johnna. On my way in, I had decided not to try to find out which employee was Brandon. None of them were wearing nametages, and I certainly was not going to ask. After dinner we were still talking and I was waiting for a barista to call my name for the Chocolate Chai I had ordered. We were regaling one another with tales when I realized I had quite a funny string of random-boy interactions from the drive home, so I was telling them the stories I have recounted above.

I had just finished the one about my phone call to Fido, when a boy in Fido garb walked up to our table and said, "Mary?"

A little embarrassed that he had overheard, I said, "Yeah - Brandon?"

He gave me a funny look, and said, "Yes, but - how do you know... ?" and I noticed the coffee cup in his hand and realized that he had not, after all, overheard my story. JoJo and Johnna failed to stifle their incredulous laughter and I barely held it together enough to try to explain.

"Um, I was just telling them the story of how I said I love you to some guy named Brandon here on the phone earlier... and I thought you must have overheard." Though why I thought he'd know my name is inexplicable.

"Oh! That was you. No, I was just bringing this drink - they've been calling your name for a few minutes now." He looked mildly amused. The girls were falling apart across the table, and I knew my face was bright red. "Well, I still love you, and I always will," he said as he handed me my drink.

It was several minutes before any of us at the table could go back to normal breathing patterns.