Conditioned Response

Last year Jonah had dance Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Being pregnant and tired and not in the mood to chase Jorja and Josie around the studio, we had a routine of pulling up, letting Jonah out, and eating a snack in the van in the parking lot. The girls would watch a movie and I would read a book. It was a great plan, and as the year progressed the girls adopted popcorn as their snack of choice. I adopted The Harry Potter series as my reading material of choice. I actually began to look forward to dance nights. The girls were quiet (and restrained) and I could sit in all my huge gestational beauty and stuff my face while reading about teenage wizards and witches. Totally win-win.

This year is a bit different, but Thursday nights are once again a good night to chill out in the van. So I decided to pop a bag of popcorn and get ourselves ready to go. Book - check, drinks - check, kids loaded in the van - check...just grab the bag of popcorn out of the microwave and we are ready to go. And then, as I walked toward the door with the bag of buttery deliciousness...I had the overwhelming urge to read a Harry Potter book. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and of course, Harry went spinning through my mind. And then I realized that months of smelling popcorn each time I picked up a book had conditioned me to think of Hogwarts any time I eat popcorn.