Miss Bit in outfit from Grandma J.Last night Miss Bit and I were snuggled in for the night playing Barbies when the phone rang. She wasn't happy because my "sister" was cooking her "sister" a fancy meal and then the "girls" were going to have a movie night in the loft after their dinner. The boys were at Cub Scout Carnival Night. It was the company that services my brothers home security system calling. They couldn't get in touch with either my brother or his fiance so they called me to let me know that the police had been dispatched after the alarm sounded. Funny...but I got in touch with my soon-to-be sil straight away. She was just arriving at the airport to pick my brother up, and asked if I would go check on the situation (every time I say this word I think of Jersey Shore). I didn't know what I could do since I don't have any way to get in their house, but then she worried aloud if she had left the stove on...she was imagining a house fire, not a prowler. It struck a nagging nerve as I have been rather fixated on fires this week...all week. Even losing sleep over emergency plans and smoke detectors at night. I asked my hubby to inspect all of our alarms the other day and that's something I never think about. It was one of those moments you wonder if you have been worrying about something or thinking of someone for a reason...in English class we used to call it foreshadowing. Miss Bit and I headed out the door in our jammies, which she thought was rather exciting, and were able to relay the fact that their was no smoke bellowing from the windows and that the house was still standing to my sil within minutes. She already knew that as she had conferenced with the police.
I'm getting to something here if you are still with me. My friend M. and I were talking the other day about her sister D. who is in ICU at a local hospital. This young, healthy woman ended up on a ventilator because of a virulent viral attack on her system...and it's not called H1N1. No, she had the ever so common Herpes virus that attacked her brain causing her to have swelling, seizures and brain damage. Then M. was telling me how her furnace shorted out and her house could have burned down (uncanny because this was after my paranoia set in) the night her sister was admitted. She was telling me how lucky she was that her ex picked up her kids and went to her house when he did to discover the problem. I'm not trying to be doom and gloom here, but that got me thinking how narrowly we escape disaster every day when we go out into the world. It put me in awe of the tenuous relationship between cause and effect...if, then, but what if? It truly made me appreciate the moment...life changes on a dime. And it made me realize the importance of human instinct...survival often depends on it. I'm not suggesting we stop living our lives or that we live them in fear, but rather that we listen to that little voice inside that we so often tune out. I am guilty of shrugging off a feeling, of telling myself it's nothing, of saying I'm being silly. Think about it. Listen to it. Trust it.
We all met back at home to catch the first night of American Idol. It's getting a little formulaic, but it's slim pickings for family friendly shows so we'll tune in. Posh is nice. Who knew?! I didn't miss Paula one bit, and I'm still trying to figure out how Ellen is going to fit in. I was tearing up at the segment of the girl who wanted to make it for her Alzheimer affilcted Grandma. Hubby pointed out that Miss Bit was choking back tears too. It was nice that she made it. I 'm a sucker...we're suckers for sad stories.
Then T. Bone came down about 20 minutes after retiring to read before bed in tears. He finished Where the Red Fern Grows and was crying. I knew we weren't gearing up for a happy ending from the gist I got after reading with him a couple nights. A funny little aside...he was reading aloud to me one night until he hit a road block. He came to the word 'bitch,' and he didn't want to say the "bad word." I explained that it actually means female dog, and that in this context and situation (there's that word again) he could say it. He came across the "bad word" several more times and I could hear it in his voice that he was uncomfortable uttering it out loud so I told him just to substitute "female dog." It sounded strange to me, but it made much more sense to him! There was also some mention of Old Yeller in the reviews on back and it took me back to my childhood. My Dad read it to my brother and I when we were about T. Bone's age. I can still remember listening to the tale of Travis and his yellow mongrel and choking back the tears. T. Bone was returning the book today and hoping to check out Old Yeller. He's a glutton, I tell ya. I'm hoping someone else is seeking punishment and that it's gone for 2 weeks in which time he forgets about it.
I got a call from the library this week letting me know that something I ordered was available for pick up. I haven't requested anything for some time so I was anxious to find out what it was. I was hoping it was some treasure that would get me really motivated to become an voracious reader again. Hubby just finished an 800 page Harry Potter book in 2 weeks and I'm darn envious. I was rather disappointed I made a special trip to pick up The Basic Writings of Thomas Paine. Did I really request this? As I exited the library, I tried to give it right back to the overnight book depository, but it was closed. It was obviously meant to be mine for a few weeks. You know I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. After paging through it, I don't think it's only coincidence that it ended up in my hands, but I still don't think I requested it.
Miss Bit woke up with a smile on her face. She was dreaming of playing with unicorns with cousin H. How delightfully dreamy. She eyed herself up in the mirror, clicked the heels of her boots and said, "I look like a cowgirl! Or maybe a rock star! I might even look like a model! I prayed for Grandma J. because she gave me this outfit and I like it so much!" Then when I told her that it was corn dogs for lunch she shouted, "Now this is going to be an exciting day!" I wonder what it would take to make me say that every morning?
There wasn't much time for the computer before school today. T. Bone's greatest worry was Farmville. Before he got on the bus he said, "Mom, I'm counting on you for something. Harvest my red wheat. Plow my land. Plant more wheat. Got it?!?" Yea, I got it. Last week I neglected the chores he left me with. He was none too pleased, and the thing is I actually felt like I let him down. I wonder what it would be like if the only worry in my day was the wilting of my virtual wheat?
I am a shut in today. I'm waiting for the repairman to come and fix my oven. It's self cleaning, but every time you clean it, it stops working. It's basically as cost effective to get a new oven as it is to use the self cleaning feature! He'll be here between the convenient hours of 1 to 5. That's ok though because I have plenty to do around here. I only have 20 more days to get through Thomas Paine you know, and today's P90X workout is arms and shoulders so I think I'll add a short run too. (80 more days to go!) The whole family is getting into it. This morning the first words out of T. Bone's mouth were, "My chest hurts." He was going head to head for a bit with his Dad during last night's core sequence. And yesterday Peanut was all over my mat during my yoga warm up. When I shooed him away, he went up and helped himself to my water. Maybe we're onto something here. Peanut and I could make a workout video. Why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment