I'd like to have a spring in my step and an urgency to get this posting over with so I can race outside and enjoy the day, but not so this morning. It was a short night, and the view out the west window looks exactly the same as it did the last four days of April.
Socked-in clouds and threats of more rain. I think we've had enough, but all those voices I've heard in the past few weeks who worry about how "dry" it is and how we're all gonna burn up cuz we had an open winter have gotten their wish.
Visions of May Day and how neat it's going to be when the flowers start popping out and all the trees have their leaves and how I'll be mowing the lawn and cussing at dandelions and getting excited cuz of the afternoon Kentucky Derby and the Mariners game where the rest of the family will be today ---- those visions will remain as such.
Cuz it's damn ugly out there as we turn over the calendar and welcome all those May flowers. Where are they? Lord knows, we've had the showers!
Okay, I'll quit my griping, but anyone who's read this blog on a regular basis knows that my patience with ugly weather wears thin after a day or so. And, we're now on the fifth straight . . . .
On the positive side of things, there are three big sporting events to enjoy today, and I'm ready for all of them. I probably will be doing some channel surfing between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. since the Mariners game starts at noon and the Kentucky Derby coverage begins at 1.
Bill and Willie made it to Seattle before midnight last night. Good timing too since they left the Lovestead shortly before 5. While they were driving, we were having some good times.
Laura, the triplets and their friend Makayla came up from Plummer to stay overnight at the cabin with Mike. Debbie and I went over to Colburn and picked up Mother, Barbara and Laurie. We all met at Slate's and had a great dinner, as usual.
Then, we dropped off Mother at her home and headed over to Bottle Bay to help Debbie finish up the moving process with refrigerator and general kitchen cleaning. We took the second to the last load of household items to their condo. She has one more trip, and then will leave that home behind.
Debbie heads off to San Francisco for a week tomorrow, so she's got a busy day ahead. I envy her the trip, just like I envy my new photographer friend Do who's heading off for New Orleans tomorrow. In my mind, San Francisco, San Antonio and New Orleans rank at the top of cities I'd love to go visit again and again.
I feel for the people, the plants and the animals of Louisiana as they once more endure a tragedy of epic proportions. At this point, let's pray that the minds who know what they're doing can quickly find some way to turn off the spigot. It's inconceivable to imagine the magnitude of what has happened and what still could happen.
As I look back on this busy, busy week, I have to smile about one of the brief but wonderful highlights. I saw Peggy Kirk for the first time in decades. Peggy aka Margaret sat in my third-period honors English class when she was a sophomore and I was a first-year teacher.
She was always fun and very bright. Among that group, if my old brain is remembering correctly, were the Taylor twins (one has worked with women's athletics at the U of I for years; the other is a teacher here in the area). Also, Carrie Anderson Jacobson sat quietly over by the wall. She has remained a good friend over the years as has Jayne Davis, now a teacher at Sandpoint Middle School.
Another student in that class intimidated me, unbenownst to him, with his phenomenal brain. Having such students pretty scary to a first-year teacher who's been led to believe that you're at least supposed fake like you know something. A difficult task for me back in the infant stages of my teaching career.
Anyway, Russell Faux didn't eat me alive with his super intelligence, but I'm sure he wondered at times about this academically-challenged rookie named Miss Brown.
Anyway, Russell Faux didn't eat me alive with his super intelligence, but I'm sure he wondered at times about this academically-challenged rookie named Miss Brown.
Yesterday on Facebook, I reconnected with Russell, whose brain has taken him to great heights in the educational world.
A week or so ago I reconnected with Peggy after seeing her name on Sig Thompson Brannon's list of FB friends. We exchanged a couple of notes. She told me where she worked---at a design center in Hayden. While going to Costco, I thought about dropping in and then I thought not.
Before leaving the area, though, I changed my mind, pulled in, parked and walked into the business. Peggy was talking to a customer, who had his back to me. Peggy's gasp at seeing me must have made that customer wonder. Anyway, I got to see her and meet one of her four children, Kelly, who also works with interior design.
It was a great few moments, which once more reminded me of the everlasting rewards that come with teaching. Peggy, by the way, grew up down the road from where we now live. Her stepfather Bill Watkins was the manager of GTE. He passed away several years ago, but her mom Shirley is still alive and doing well.
We've had a lot of depressing rain this week, but moments like my short visit with Peggy, time spent earlier with the photo shoot of my horse friends, the fun we had at dinner last night, helping move Debbie and Willie and watching the birthday boys and Annie at the baseball game today will more than makes up for the bad weather.
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