Winter 2019 is unlikely to go down in the books as my favorite winter. We’ve had one faux snow day, record-breaking amounts of rain, random illnesses, and very little school. I signed a permission slip yesterday and accidentally dated it 2/29/2019. The Spouse saw it on the kitchen island late last night and said, “Do you know this date doesn’t even exist?” My only explanation is that the lack of normalcy in our weeks has rendered me dazed and confused on a lot of levels.
I know better than to even attempt a thoughtful or reflective post this week. But there are still a few quick things I want to document:
Last weekend’s storms dropped an historic amount of rain on parts of our city. It’s one thing to see flooding on the national news. It’s altogether different to see it happen where you live and work and play. We were only inconvenienced by the high waters, but there is extensive property damage all around and surely some who have lost homes. I can imagine the devastation flooding has brought to other parts of the country in recent years now, and I will never dismiss a “flash flood” warning as a minor matter again. Our neighborhood sits on a hill across the street from a body of water. Here are a few images of the road we use to come and go:
Today {Thursday} most of our roads are passable again and it’s hard to believe the pictures from the weekend are even real. It’s also hard to believe that flowers from Trader Joe’s are real and still going strong a week after I brought them home. I don’t know what they do to boost the resiliency of their flowers, but they’re somehow able to survive in perilous situations like, for example: in my care.
It’s amazing what a bright spot a vase of $4 mixed flowers can be in the midst of a dreary winter. Every time I see this pop of color I’m reminded spring is coming. Apparently it’s not coming until our temperatures dip down into the teens again next week. But still, it’s coming.
Coming up even sooner, though, is a special event for dogs. On Saturday we’ll head downtown for Mardi Growl, a pet parade and all-day event for dogs and their owners put on to benefit a local animal shelter. Since the Spouse’s pharmacy services people and pets, we reserve a vendor booth and talk to people about their dog’s {or cat’s} pharmaceutical needs. Did you know your dog could be taking bacon-flavored medicine? Rosie knows this. She also knows she doesn’t get to go to the parade on Saturday, and so she has spent a good portion of the week pouting and making disgruntled faces.
Before you pity her, let me tell you why she can’t go. Just this morning as I was doing some computer work she was sitting stately and maturely by the front window looking outside. All was quiet and calm in the house. I was just about to take a sip of coffee. And then suddenly—with no warning—she erupts in a barking frenzy and hurls her body against the window causing the shutters to loudly and alarmingly slam shut. I jump up, heart pounding, thinking there must be some imminent danger outside: a stranger, a solicitor, an approaching intruder. But do you know what the culprit appeared to be? A baby bird playing in a puddle in the distant cul-de-sac. I’m so glad she warned me. And, I’m so glad she won’t be joining us on Saturday. It would seriously be easier to take a wild deer along with us.
My last thought this week is in no way connected to the others, which seems only fitting for my disorganized state of mind. I just always enjoy deciphering the mystery sentences the 1st Grader churns out when given the freedom to make up her own. Here are two examples:
I can tell you that she has heard the first sentence said more than a few times in recent weeks. I don’t have all that much “pashens” to begin with so I “lowse” mine frequently. It was the second sentence that really tripped me up until I realized a “musash” is not a mustache. It’s a MASSAGE. You just have to imagine you’re saying it with a thick French accent, and it all makes a lot more sense.
And then we have the sentence that reminds me why we don’t ever need to travel by train. I don’t want to see any more “frow up” or any more flood waters this winter.
Wishing you a drier weekend and a pleasant slide into a brand new month. I can serve as your reminder that 2/29 is not a day this year, so tomorrow is one day closer to spring!
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