Keith versus Mat

Yesterday I purchased our fall mat.

Every spring and every fall, I purchase a new mat for our front porch. I try to get something seasonal, obviously, and something to keep dirty feet out of our living room. I alternate seasons because frankly, they last at least that long. And I chose spring and fall because the spring decorations work for summer, and alternately the fall for winter.

And every spring and every fall, when Keith comes home and sees the new mat, he starts on how we should be saving money, and where should we cut corners, and do we really need a new mat?

Yesterday, I was waiting for it. Sure enough, I heard the key turn in the lock, and Keith mumbling, "Are you kidding me?"

IT'S JUST A MAT. But really, it's such a tradition now, it's like the changing of the seasons themselves. The leaves fall, the weather turns cooler, and I get a stern talking-to about mats.