I came home from work to be greeted by a husband with stuck on tile goop gracing his forearms and elbows, sweaty brow, and kneeling in the corner of the half bath placing his last tile on the wall.

The dog days of summer have landed a couple months early in these parts – outdoors AND indoors. The humidity is stifling along with the heat, and if you know me at all, you know I am not a Central Daylight Time kind of person, because that means there are approximately four more daytime hours of sunlight for my husband to continue working nonstop. He does. Nonstop.

I chipped in a little and vacuumed the freshly sanded wood floors to prep for staining, and when he finished his job and was dripping with sweat, we decided to take a break and go get some dinner, since we have no kitchen or table at this stage of the game.

We decided to stop at Costco and pick up a couple things, and after we checked out, a hotdog sounded too good to pass up. Besides, we are in the middle of the DOG days of summer. Nothing better than a hotdog on a sweltering June evening.

Holy Don’t Ask What Is In a Hotdog Just Enjoy It Batman.

I know we are a little late to the party, but we both ate meals at Costco last night for $1.50 each! AND, we had all the dinner entertainment we could want, sitting at the white picnic tables and watching the Costco faithful push their loaded carts to the exit.

It was a very enjoyable break, and the sun was still shining when we left Costco to return home to work.

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In 1985, Costco first introduced its now legendary food court deal: a hot dog and soda for just $1.50. Part of what makes the offer so mythical is that, 36 years later, the price hasn’t budged—despite the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator suggests the price should be around $3.65 today.

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I am grateful for Costco.

I am grateful for hotdogs that stick out of both sides of the bun.

I am grateful for evenings without work.

However, I am also grateful for a beautiful home in the making.

I am grateful for a husband who is furthest from a couch potato.

I am grateful for funny people who like Costco.

I am grateful for the young man, Max, who helped us self checkout and said, “Life is too short.” When we asked him why he happened to say that, he proceeded to tell us about his Dad, Jeff, who has been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer – “get your colonoscopy” – and says that phrase now…and is also a patient at KU.

Isn’t that interesting and ironic…

I am grateful for impromptu “date nights” and cheap dinners and divine meetings.