It's a Grandparent Thing. You Wouldn't Understand.

My parents have a fully automated house. Well, it seems that way at times. Their coffeemaker beeps when it's done brewing a pot; the dishwasher beeps when it finishes a load, so does the washing machine and the dryer; the refrigerator beeps when it's left open, and there's a timer on the stove and the microwave that make noise. Hell! Even the toaster beeps before popping! Most of the beeps sound the same making every beep the beginning of a futuristic guessing game.

But the newest addition to this mechanical mayhem is their security system. Anytime a door opens to the outside, a doorbell rings quietly and a female computer voice announces which door has opened. During the morning hours and around dinner time, that automated voice turns into quite the jabber-mouth. "Front-door," "Back-door," "Garage-door," people coming in, going out; the dog coming in, going out; the cat following the dog; and when my kids are visiting; kids going out, coming in.

Yesterday, Little Man opened the "back-door" for the dog, then he decided to go out the "back-door" too before Juliet followed them. Then, not even a minute later, my mom picked up her glass of wine and opened the "back-door" but when she stepped down to the back porch my daughter announced, "Ding-Dong! Back door," doing her best impression of the computer voice. "Ha ha," said my mom, "very funny." 

I love that my kids see humor in these things too.