13.

Last week I told my mom that Matt and I had some beautiful halibut fillets in the freezer. She had a hankering for halibut so suggested I trade her for some parmigiano reggiano cheese she had. We worked out that I would owe her one fillet and $5. I went home with the cheese and promised her that I would bring the fish the next time I saw her. Then, she called me and told me that she had gone strawberry picking and had picked me a bunch of strawberries for my freezer. She wasn't sure what my cost was, but it would be added to the cost of the cheese. So I owed her one halibut fillet, $5, plus some extra cash. This morning I was going to Columbus Meat Market so I called her to see if she would need anything. She asked for a kilo of ground pork. Now I owe her one halibut fillet, one kilo of ground pork and an unknown amount of cash, and she owes me some strawberries.

I have no idea how we got here. I do know that she does this not only with me but also with my sister and my sister-in-law.

So is my mother running her own black market? Is she the capo of some mafia food ring? Does she watch the market runs on parmigiano in order to pounce when the getting is good?

I have no idea.
I'm just getting my strawberries, and getting out. Quick.