Superglue and Making Chinese Food Taste Better

No, they’re not related. I just have superglue on my mind because it’s on nearly all of fingers. More on that later.

On Thursday I rented Kung Fu Panda for us to watch as a family. We were too busy that night…I think it got too late. It didn’t happen any of the nights and it’s due back today so we decided to watch it for FHE last night. (don’t judge us)

Adam loves Chinese food and I don’t but that man’s wily. Yesterday he said, “Let’s have Chinese food for dinner to go with the movie.” Everyone was wildly on board.

When Adam got home the debate was on. Should we get take out and bring it home? Should we eat in a Chinese restaurant? Should we go somewhere and get me something non-Chinese? I said that I was fine with Chinese…it was all part of the Kung Fu Panda experience. The kids wanted to eat inside a restaurant until Adam mentioned going to the place where Mark is a celebrity. Then they all wanted take out.

There’s a little Chinese take out place (it’s by Fred Meyer if you have a red head and want to go) where the people there love Mark and all of our kids really. I’d never been before, only heard the stories. I’ve heard about them hugging all three kids, kissing Mark’s head and giving Adam extra food because of Mark. Adam has actually stooped so low as to exploit Mark by taking him along to pick up the food. Shameless.

Last night I went along to see what all the hype was. When the lady behind the counter saw us walking towards the glass door from outside, she literally started jumping up and down and waving and had a huge smile. I’m pretty sure no one has ever been that excited to see us approach. Over and over she told us how happy she was to see us. She told me how much she loved my kids (Does she know my kids? Because I could tell her stories…). She told me how cute they are and she was thrilled because now she “got to meet Mommy.” We were all standing around waiting for our food and feeling loved. She asked about Halloween and wanted to know about our costumes and candy consumption. She wished us a Happy Thanksgiving and sent us on our way with our little boxes of Chinese food. On the way to the car, Adam said, “See?” I told him I couldn’t believe how happy she was to see us and Adam said, “I think it makes the food taste better.”

I think he was right.

And the superglue?

Adam married a family of people that glue. My dad works with his hands and when they crack, he glues them together with superglue. In the summer when Marianne’s feet crack because she is a flip-flop aficionada, she superglues herself back together. A few years ago, Tabor was breaking a mule and was bucked off. Tabor’s handsome face collided with the mule’s solid skull with bad results. Tabor didn’t go to the doctor though. He superglued his face back together. (He had dried blood stuck in the glue.) Months later, it was when Enoch went to Arizona to visit that he told Tabor something wasn’t quite right with his face. After reconstructive surgery on his facial bones, Tabor is back to his former handsome self (and doesn’t even see double anymore). Superglue. We’re believers.

So Adam has a crack in the bottom of his foot. I bought some superglue. Adam said, “What are you going to do?” (I know, right? How can he doubt the power of superglue?) I said, “Superglue was invented during the Vietnam war to glue wounds together.”

He said, “Where did you hear that?”

I said, “My dad.”

Unlike me, Adam doesn’t necessarily take everything my dad says as absolute truth so he went online. He read about superglue and Vietnam “This urban legend is actually more fact than fiction.”

Hah! You don’t doubt my dad.

Adam was lying on the family room floor, checking his laptop for his schedule tomorrow and there his feet were, just waiting for glue. I got out the superglue and read the package, “Avoid contact with skin.” Will no one believe my dad on this one?

Here’s when trouble began though. Maybe I’m not as smart as my siblings. The glue sort of exploded all over my hands when I put the applicator on. I (quickly) rubbed some into Adam’s foot and ran to the bathroom sink but not before I had a thin layer of glue all over my fingers. It is not coming off. I guess it will be a fun experiment to see how long it takes for my skin cells to regenerate.

It can be a science lesson.

No big loss without a little gain.