It’s my custom to read in the school pickup line. It’s a long line and in order to get a good spot, you have to get to the school at least 15-20 minutes before the bell rings. Reading is the best thing to do while sitting there, engine off, windows down, music at a responsible volume, small children snoozing in back seats.

Yesterday, I took along the May issue of Real Simple, my favorite magazine. I grabbed it from a messy pile on the way out the door, my eyes focusing on the month and the pretty apple green cover. As I read, I kept getting the vague feeling the entire thing was an urban legend. I’d heard it before, down to the amusing story of an egg-based hair conditioner gone wrong and an essay thanking the author’s mom for teaching her table manners.

The sense of deja vu was overwhelming. I swore I’d made a pasta salad just like the recipe on page 46. Still, I turned the pages until the cars ahead of me began starting and pulling forward. I tossed it onto the console next to me and there my eyes brushed this:

May. 2008.

Oh.