Dream Come True?

Well, it looks like the family dream is coming true. Let me rephrase that...it looks like my father's family dream is coming true. Growing up, Dad only expected a few things out of my sister and brother and I:

1. You must learn to fish.
2. Never ride your bike without shoes on. Flip flops don't count.
3. You're not taking a car to college your freshman year. So, forget it.
4. He'd front the cost of a pressure washer if you wanted to start a pressure washing business. 

Rules two and three were pretty strictly adhered to, and they make some sense. To this day, I still don't ride a bike without shoes on. To Dad's utter disappointment, none of us turned into fishermen. Yes, we did learn how to fish, but that was his selfish rule - he just wanted a fishing partner. As for number four, my two older siblings and I were hounded with this business venture every single summer after we turned 15 or 16. Of course, because I'm the youngest with 9 years between my sister (who's the oldest) and me, I heard this spiel...well, a lot.

Obviously, he was trying to teach us something about business, but I'm not sure why he settled on the pressure washer. It was never a lemonade stand or a lawn mowing business. It was always, always, always a pressure washer. It kind of became this family joke. It was like that time when my brother asked if he could have a motorcycle and Dad replied with, "Why don't we just take you out in the backyard and shoot you? It'd save us some time and money." The Family Pressure Washing Business just became one of those "Dad Things" that we laughed about. It was something to put in amongst the few childhood memories the three of us actually share because of the age differences.

Last week, Mom came home with a pressure washer. Yeah, that's right, a pressure washer. Since apparently it rains in Oregon 9 months out of the year, the outside decks, porches, and stairs grows moss and slime like nobody's business, and she wants me to wash all these surfaces before winter. Dad's reaction? "Ah, my dream is coming true! One of my children now owns a pressure washer! Get to work, Nat."

My reaction was to text my brother and sister with, "Guess what...Mom and Dad bought a pressure washer..." They weren't as sympathetic as I had hoped. They laughed. Don't they get that it's not a joke anymore?