The Blessing in Disguise

Usually I blog late on Sunday night. I either save the draft or write the blog in MS Word and then post it early Monday morning.

But these weekend I was exhausted on Sunday night. Saturday was The Big Read, a huge book festival, and our Sisters in Crime chapter had a booth. I was encouraged by one of the members to come in costume. "That'll be fun--and we'll draw attention to ourselves."

Not exactly.

Drawing Attention to Myself at the Big Read

More like, I drew attention to MYSELF...because I was the only fool who showed up in costume. Did I mention it was 90 degrees? A record high for St. Louis this time of year? And humid? And that I wore a black witches costume? Or that in order not to be X-rated, I had to put on a slip under that costume? Plus, I'm sure I neglected to mention I had on the de rigeur witch's hat, right? There were also short black boots that have to be worn with socks or I'd get blisters.

I arrived at 8 a.m. My pal Michelle Becker helped me haul four boxes of books, each at about 30 lbs. to the booth. I left at 3 p.m. I was a soggy, sticky mess. In fact, I was woozy from the heat.

So I took Sunday off.

No problem. I could get up bright and early today (Monday) and do my blog.

Other Plans...

But as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens while you make other plans."

First there was the sick kid. He'd been snuffling and hocking and generally making congested sounds all weekend, but this morning he didn't feel like getting out of bed. "Call the doctor," he croaked.

Then, my husband asked, "Does Vicky need more ear medicine?" The vet said, "No, but she does need an ear cleaner to follow the treatment. You can come by and pick it up." At that point, I mentioned the small bump I'd found on Rafferty's back. Since he'd had another cancerous lump removed less than a year before, I was vigilant. "Hmmm," said the vet. "Better bring him in so we can do a culture. That was an aggressive cancer. Can you come by in an hour?"

An hour gave me just enough time to shower and dress. Fortunately, Rafferty's bump was not cancerous. I brought him home--and he was happy to get the heck out of Dodge, believe me. The poor dog has lost his testicles to neutering, his right hind leg to being abused, and had a big lump taken out of his back. I'm sure he's convinced we're whittling him down to a nubbin--and the vet is NOT his favorite spot.

Now, I rounded up my son for his doctor appointment. After getting him going, I'd have just enough time to blog, right? Wrong. The power went out. The smoke detectors went on. Amidst the shrieking, I discovered I'd forgotten to recharge my phone last night. I used my son's phone to call my husband. He called AmerenUE. The same people who were responsible for 2 1/2 days without power over the winter and a 1/2 day without in the worst of the summer. "Scheduled maintenance," they explained. Ha! They didn't consult MY schedule.

It took both my son and me to open the garage door. Without power, it's very uncooperative. We went to the doctor's to discover my son has allergies. Then we went out to eat.

The Blessing in Disguise

Usually, I'd be thinking...I have to get back, I have to finish my work...but the power outage was a gift. I had a leisurely late lunch with my eighteen-year-old son. We talked about this and that, college, school, his future, and his friends.

So finally, I'm here blogging. I doubt that you missed me. But if the day hadn't gone the way it did, I would have missed something very, very precious....time with my son.