So That Happened

This post will be dedicated to a single event that took place tonight.

Necessary background information:
1) My brother Michael and his best friend/business partner Pasha left this afternoon for Eastern Washington where they will camp overnight and return tomorrow with two tons (literally) of grapes for their wine.
2) The phrase "punch-down" refers to a process during which the grapes in Michael's macrobins are punched down using a flat metal puncher-downer (technical term).

Circumstances of this evening:
At 9:30 my mom and I were the only ones home. My mom was downstairs in the study checking her email and I was in my room working on my article for Seattle Met Magazine. My mom heard a faint noise coming from the basement (where the winery is located) and became vaguely concerned. She looked out the window but didn't see a car. Then she thought maybe it was just me watching television. When she dissuaded herself of that conclusion, she came up with a game plan: Come upstairs, get me, grab a baseball bat, and head down to the basement. As she was entering the dining room on her way to the stairs, her phone rang. It was Michael. "Did I tell you Nate would be coming by to do the punch-down?" he asked.

My mom laughed and told him what she had been on her way to do. "I'm going to get you a shotgun for Christmas" was my brother's response.

This is my family.