Monday-Morning Mutterings

Another beginning to another week of life, and I'm wondering what's on the menu.  I know a few items. 

~~~~Tomorrow afternoon. I'll be attending a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate)  training meeting at Panhandle Health.  Judy Moon Labrie has given me the details---that it will be a big meeting and that CASA volunteers will be there.

My purpose in attending is to learn more in hopes of writing my next column.  Judy sent me a note a while back,  telling me of the need for volunteers to help with CASA-related program.  That need ranges from providing transportation for kids to a full-fledged commitment to be a foster parent.  

I'm sure I'll learn a lot tomorrow afternoon and that I'll have more than enough to fill a column.  

~~~I also know the grass is growing, so the lawnmower will be busy for sure.  While mowing one section of lawn yesterday, I stopped long enough to tell Bill some good news after he'd returned from church.  

That news was prefaced with the fact that "this is the day I live for every spring . . . the day I can get on my lawnmower and mow."  Neighbors who drive by will attest to the fact that I love riding my mowers.

~~~~The news for Bill had just come via telephone from Willie in Portland.  I could sense an uncharacteristic excitement in Willie's voice the minute he said hello. 

His report:  the Monticola and Cedar Post staffs received  ten awards at the JEA national convention.  More than 3,000 kids and 440 awards given, ten from Sandpoint High School.

I don't know if that's a record, but I know it's pretty impressive for national competition.  I also know the excitement it fosters for the kids, the parents, the teachers and the community who support the programs at the high school.  

And, I know that such success breeds success in the future.  That's what's helped the publications staffs at Sandpoint High School continue putting out quality products---that and some good teaching.  

So, Bill and I shared a proud moment as we talked about the good fortune Willie has enjoyed during his rookie year as a teacher.  

Much of that good fortune has come through the influence and guidance of his Aunt Barbara (the yearbook adviser) who, along with our sister Laurie, has always been a guiding light for our two kids. 

That generous spirit and caring is  never forgotten and always appreciated. 

~~~~

This reflection ranks at the top for the weekend events.  Bill announced Saturday evening, after an afternoon spent home dog sitting, that he was going fishing on Sunday afternoon.  

After returning from church, he wasted no time grabbing a bite to eat, loading up his aluminum boat and hauling three trips' worth of stuff to his pickup. 

While mowing lawn and watching this seemingly endless process, I was beginning to wonder if he was going to take the whole house with him. Finally, it was apparent that he would climb in the pickup and head off to Kelso Lake.  So, I stopped the mower and wished him well, confident I wouldn't see him again until well after dark.

I finished mowing the lawn and then looked over my food supply to make sure I had everything needed for a hamburger feed when Willie and Debbie returned from Portland  to pick up their dogs.  

I could find only two decent buns and three which had been long-frozen in individual bags in the freezer.  I knew there was no fooling Willie that these buns were, indeed, fresh, so I headed to town to pick up some more and along with some potato salad.

Upon returning, I was stunned to see the pickup and boat parked in the driveway, only an hour or so after Bill's departure.  Now, THIS WAS UNCHARACTERISTIC for my fisherman husband.  

He was walking out of the garage when I stepped out of the car.

"What are you doing home?" I asked.

"I forgot something," he said, looking somewhat sheepish.

I could not imagine what Bill could have forgotten after watching him load up that pickup earlier.

"What did you forget?" I asked, somehow guessing from the look on his face.

"My pole," he said.  

Kelso Lake is approximately 40 miles from our home.  Bill had arrived at the lake, all ready for the big afternoon in the boat.  No pole (rod for the aFISHionados).  So, he drove the 40 miles back to Selle, retrieved his pole (rod) and headed back south, this time to Cocolalla Lake (approximately 25 miles from our house).

When he returned, long after dark from his 130-mile journey to catch a fish,  I asked how fishing was. 

No luck, he said, no fish. 

In my mind, however, it was one of the best fish stories I've ever had to report!

~~~~Happy Monday.