I posted on Facebook recently that I'm just realizing there is NO such thing as a "perfect" day to start a lesson, a project, an exercise regimen, or anything for that matter. Yesterday was proof, a Monday, beginning of the week, hormones "stable", feeling chipper, spring coming, list of incremental weight loss rewards done, and the devil himself ready to stop me. All 4 little people woke me/us up sometime in the night Sunday: 1 with night terrors, 1 sitting on the end of his bed crying inexplicably, 1 talking in his sleep, and 1 restless from her doses of steroids, I believe, or maybe her body trying to digest the enormous amount of food she's been eating from them. Manuel has to get up at 5:30, 2 days a week for school, but before we did that, Mike left for TN at 3 am. You get the picture, broken sleep. I did go back to bed, but not without the phone ringing all morning.
With some sleep under my belt, I was onto my big walk. First I got a call from Miranda, who started her morning shift at Shoney's and had lost her debit card, went to the bank for cash, bank closed for holiday, wanted to use my card (but I reminded her that since I thought it was lost, I had it deactivated). She then informed me what really mattered is that she couldn't get our 3 month old car to start. After having her look through the manual, I had to tell her to make the dreaded call to Daddy. He fixed her right up telling her to move the steering wheel because the car was probably in a bind. He didn't find out 'til last night that she had no money and 7 miles to go on gas. Thankfully, she found her card in the bottom of her bag. Funny, that morning I was just thinking how good it is for a 16 year old to learn about banking, budgeting, car care, time management (and night classes soon), dealing with the public at large as well as authority, and finding out how difficult it can be to survive on minimum pay. She made it through this lesson while sitting at a vacant bank that was in a less than desirable location, independent but with a lifeline, short as it was with one bar of battery left on her phone.
Then, Mike called to say my card from our other account had been turned off because of "suspicious activity" and needed me to check on it ASAP - bank closed; going on my walk! A few more people managed to catch me on my laps around the property. One I particularly soaked in was the view of our neighbor on the hill plowing his field with his humongous horse. I love beauty and usefulness all wrapped up in one. Later, he came by and invited me to bring the kids to watch today; learning 101, I say!
The walk/sprints up the hill made me feel like a car that's oil has been changed. Heck, I had to do something after being pathetically out of breath on Saturday when Michael, now 13, and his fellow appreciator of all things dangerous accidentally started a fire in the field. The ironic thing is that I was on the phone with the other boy's mother talking about them and their potential to be the leaders and warriors of tomorrow. I turned around to see the small blaze behind the boys as they were laughing it up and walking back to the house, clueless. The firecracker scare to the horse didn't go as planned. The wind had blown it off the driveway. The boys did the smart thing and ran to the volleyball court for sand and were doing a good job with boots and rake, but then a gust came. I was coming with 2 half filled 5 gallon buckets of water. As I was running back up, ridiculously out of breath, I saw our neighbor run down wanting to help AND warning the boys that a family friend had been surrounded and died in such a fire. One of the boys didn't have his shoes on, so wasn't "staying in the black". Long story, short, the whole Fire Dept and all the volunteers came out. We know most of them as coaches and neighbors. Michael who had a game to play 2 hours later was the butt of many jokes, I'm sure. Less than "perfect"/scheduled days are what "life's lessons" are made of and the quicker I accept it and work around it, the happier I shall be.
So, this morning I've been up since 5:30. A beautiful thing is happening; my stomach is growling, which is God's way of saying it's time to eat, but only a little when one has so much other "fuel to burn". The sky is blue and a walk must be imminent. I broke my 3rd pair of ear buds yesterday; maybe it's a sign that I should do some praying while I'm walking. I know someone who just had a mastectomy, someone whose father has 2 chambers shutting down and is in line for a transplant, people who are facing their mortality daily, of a young girl who is mutilating herself - feeling displaced (left as a child, although she is well-loved now), a grandmother who is trying desperately to adopt her 6 year old grandson whom she has had since he was 2 months old and addicted, my husband whose body has gone haywire but he goes to work every chance he gets so we can have days like yesterday - picnic under the bridge, toes in the water, children where God intended them to be.....
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