So yesterday I was in a mood. I didn't drink anything away after picking Emily up from school because, well, I've already drank it all away and didn't have a drop of amaretto or a single bottle of Boone's cheap and yummy anywhere. After Leirin got off the bus, I sat here for maybe 15 minutes before saying "Put your shoes on, we're going to Dad's for dinner." Jake didn't feel like going. He spent the day trying to cough up a lung and the half pound of peppermints I fed him in an attempt to help with the scratchy throat that kept him coughing had left him less than excited about the prospect of food. Poor baby. I felt for him, I really did, but this was all about me and my need to do something to keep myself from exploding. I was certainly willing to offer ice cream for supper if that was all he felt like he could handle (he chose to eat a few of my fries instead) I just had to get out of the house and do something just because I wanted to and not because someone said I needed to do this NOW so I could hurry up and wait.
It was a nice little bit of normal for all of us. Doug even came out to have dinner with us, but wouldn't you know half way through the meal he turns a funky shade of pale and declares himself to be "sick". Jake came home with Doug and the girls and I went to the house. I've sworn I wasn't going back until the house is "ours" but it was supposed to be ours today, not another week from now, and I needed to go and remember why we're putting ourselves through this. The girls broke into a run toward the barn as soon as they were out of the van. Leirin slowed down to walk with me and Emily went full speed ahead. We heard her yelling when we were about half way there. She'd holler, pause a minute, then holler again. By the time we got close enough to see her she was jumping up and down, her smile bright enough to light the world on a day the sun didn't shine.
"Listen! I can hear me!" she said, breaking into another fit of yelling. She had discovered echoes.
Leirin and I stood at the edge of the woods and picked out which trees would be cleared to open a path to the barn and decided on a fence line, then we headed off into the barn with Emily to see what animals had left their prints behind recently. There were racoons, as always, and this time there were deer tracks too. We kept finding parts of prints we couldn't figure out, much bigger and different from the coons and deer tracks that dotted the loose red dirt. About half way through the barn, we found a good, clear print. It's a cat. A big one judging from the prints as large as my palm. About 20 feet away we found several more clear prints. Definitely bobcat or cougar. It sent Emily into a mighty freak out, but didn't stop her from romping through the woods with us as we walked the property line. We didn't go all the way to the back side because we were all wearing sandals, but we walked far enough to be completely satisfied that no matter what goes on outside those boundaries, the little world we'll make will remain in tact. We walked for about an hour, stopping to look at deer tracks and scrapes in the woods, listening occasionally for the cry of a cat (ok so we might have been just a tiny bit spooked but we got over it). The girls climbed on a couple of fallen trees and we found wild roses growing in the clearing that will become pasture. I got just what I needed yesterday walking in the quiet woods and I know that if it could fix what was wrong with me yesterday, it's going to be worth waiting for.
It was a nice little bit of normal for all of us. Doug even came out to have dinner with us, but wouldn't you know half way through the meal he turns a funky shade of pale and declares himself to be "sick". Jake came home with Doug and the girls and I went to the house. I've sworn I wasn't going back until the house is "ours" but it was supposed to be ours today, not another week from now, and I needed to go and remember why we're putting ourselves through this. The girls broke into a run toward the barn as soon as they were out of the van. Leirin slowed down to walk with me and Emily went full speed ahead. We heard her yelling when we were about half way there. She'd holler, pause a minute, then holler again. By the time we got close enough to see her she was jumping up and down, her smile bright enough to light the world on a day the sun didn't shine.
"Listen! I can hear me!" she said, breaking into another fit of yelling. She had discovered echoes.
Leirin and I stood at the edge of the woods and picked out which trees would be cleared to open a path to the barn and decided on a fence line, then we headed off into the barn with Emily to see what animals had left their prints behind recently. There were racoons, as always, and this time there were deer tracks too. We kept finding parts of prints we couldn't figure out, much bigger and different from the coons and deer tracks that dotted the loose red dirt. About half way through the barn, we found a good, clear print. It's a cat. A big one judging from the prints as large as my palm. About 20 feet away we found several more clear prints. Definitely bobcat or cougar. It sent Emily into a mighty freak out, but didn't stop her from romping through the woods with us as we walked the property line. We didn't go all the way to the back side because we were all wearing sandals, but we walked far enough to be completely satisfied that no matter what goes on outside those boundaries, the little world we'll make will remain in tact. We walked for about an hour, stopping to look at deer tracks and scrapes in the woods, listening occasionally for the cry of a cat (ok so we might have been just a tiny bit spooked but we got over it). The girls climbed on a couple of fallen trees and we found wild roses growing in the clearing that will become pasture. I got just what I needed yesterday walking in the quiet woods and I know that if it could fix what was wrong with me yesterday, it's going to be worth waiting for.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home