Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Compliments

It is Tuesday. Somehow I missed that memo earlier today. I mean, I knew it was Tuesday all day. I knew I was going to meet Katie and Erin to go to an appointment in New Hampshire and that there was one after that in Leominster. I knew this was happening on Tuesday. I knew my three younger boys and I had planned to watch The Great Wall this afternoon. The reason we were planning on today is because it’s Tuesday and it costs less. But then it was time for scouts and although I knew it was still happening in spite of no school this week, somehow I completely missed the idea that it was still Tuesday this evening. Ahhhhh, such is life.
Today was, in many ways, an incredibly awesome day. Why it was actually begins Sunday afternoon.
Sunday I left church early. I took Cedric to Joanna’s, which is a different story altogether, and then headed to Fitzwilliam. I was late for the prenatal at noon but did not miss it completely. In fact, I was there before Erin returned, which is also an entirely different story, and therefore before any bloodletting was attempted. A few weeks ago, I attempted to draw blood and was not successful. Then Katie attempted and was not successful. Turns out, we had a faulty tube. Well, guess what? We had another faulty tube. Annoying.
I have a poncho type wrap that is black with fringe at the bottom and I love it. I wear it often when weather and temperature permit. Sunday was one such day. It is somewhat large and not really conducive to activities such as drawing blood so I swirled it off and hung it on the back of a chair. The husband said, “You did that in true Jedi fashion!”
Honestly, that is the best thing anyone has said to me in a long, long time. Just about made my day.
After that appointment, there was a skills workshop which is yet another story, and then a couple more appointments. I accompanied Katie and Erin in my car to the first in order that we could divide and conquer for the second. They went to a bona fide prenatal while I went to weigh a slowly gaining baby. For one thing, driving wasn’t too bad in spite of the fact that it was dark, a lot of it was on a three lane (each direction) freeway with more traffic than I like (I don’t like any), and I was alone. For another thing, I had no flashbacks. Lastly, I only had to remind myself about five hundred times to relax my shoulders; I have this habit of tensing my shoulders when I’m driving at night.
At the appointment, which was fantastic, I noticed that the soon-to-be grandma was knitting. Yay! I love to meet other people who knit! Not that we actually talked about knitting other than the observation Katie made about how the yarn looked like it was coming from the cat on her lap and the husband said, “The cat is unraveling!” I also noticed that the husband was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt and had to comment. He likes Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 1980’s style.
Yesterday was a day. It was a pretty good day. I didn’t get as much reading done as I wanted to but at least the Christmas tree is now down. Today was another pretty good day. I left at 8:30 for a prenatal visit and then a visit to the slowly gaining baby and her mama and daddy. It’s always interesting talking to Katie and Erin; I’m not sure I can adequately express how much I enjoy working with them. Today was much the same.
Today, I’m not sure why, but I was mentioning that the church around the corner from us has Psychic Faires fairly often. Katie just looked at me and said, “And you’re the psychic? With your billowy hair and demeanor, you’d be perfect! You could tell the people how awesome they are and then say, ‘That will be $150!’” Hmmmm. An interesting complement that I’m happy to take and what an interesting thought.
Just in case you’re wondering, no, I am not going to start telling people how awesome they are and charging them.
Later, we were talking about jury duty and court and other similarly fun subjects. Katie asked if I was familiar with jury nullification and I had to admit that I wasn’t. This is what I just found in a quick search, which is basically what she said: “Jury nullification occurs in a trial when a jury acquits a defendant, even though the members of the jury believe the defendant to be guilty of the charges. This may occur when members of the jury disagree with the law the defendant has been charged with breaking, or believe that the law should not be applied in that particular case.” When selected to be on a jury, it is our duty to know about this and act on it. I had no idea. I’m glad I do now.
At some point, Katie told me that I am somewhat unique. I always figured I was, you know, because everyone is in some way or another. What she meant, though, is that most people who are at the stage of life where I am have become set in their belief system(s) and ways of behaving and no longer question much, if anything. That is perhaps the greatest complement I’ve ever received.

The Great Wall is a pretty good movie. Not perfect, but good. A decent story, great effects. I’m glad we went.
I am glad that I am where I am and that I’m doing what I’m doing. This does not mean that my desire to return to Idaho has lessened, it just means that I’m grateful to be working with Katie. I feel that I am finally becoming the person I was always meant to be.


Now, it is time to take care of nighttime rituals and then get some reading done. I hope you have had a wonderful day!