Happy Valentine's Day

Some girls get candy from their sweethearts, others get flowers. I got to clean up the dog puke in the dog's cage that my hubby so graciously left for me. He has an extremely weak stomach and I know whenever a child or a pet "gets juicy" I'm the one with the carpet cleaner and the roll of paper towels.

It's Monday and I'm running late. Can I at least get a courtesy call from the road alerting me that it is there? I tried to get my oldest son to clean it up but he was having no part of it. I even tried to bribe him with my last five dollars. It wasn't enough. I was ten minutes late for work but no one noticed.

I think I'm done with the edits for Wildchild Publishing. My short story, Caught In The Middle will be published in their March issue. Their editors are awesome. I worked with Faith on A Soldier's Story (September 2004, Editor's Choice Award Winner) and Molly O'Brien (October 2004) but since she's out, I've been working with Barry. They are first class all the way.

Basketball season is winding down, thank goodness. My oldest son's school team in already in their end of season tournament and his church team will begin theirs this weekend, as will my oldest daughter. My youngest son has two more games and no tourney and my youngest daughter has about four more games left.

Gee, then baseball / softball season is here! AHHHHHHHH!

February in the Carolina's means the return of those Canadian Geese. They are a beautiful bird to look at but mighty aggressive when they want to be and are prone to leave a foul green mess on the sidewalks throughout the city. I suppose the sidewalk is better than my truck.

As I was leaving for work I saw a couple (yes in a romantic sense be it that they mate for life) outside in the pouring rain standing as if it was the most beautiful day yet. I was mesmerized by their lack of concern over being soaked and I sort of envied their freedom. No filters, no right way to go about their day, no politics or faces to keep up - just walking in the rain just because it was there.

I didn't put my umbrella up to shield myself from the cutting wind and pelting rain. I walked into the elements just as bare as those geese and let the rain come down. Yes, it was cold, but I relished it instead of pulling my sweater around my neck. I walked a normal pace and let it wash over me. I was soaked by the time I reached my truck and my hair was dripping for most of the way home. But the sense of being totally free was amazing. Perhaps I'll watch those geese more often.

My husband has a case of the crud (slang for flu at our house) so the kids are not to go near him and they are to wash their hands a minimum of 100 times a day. I don't want to be mean but I also can't have everyone with the flu. Talk about a horror story!

But back into the grind. My 1st grader has a spelling test tomorrow so I'm off to help him study. The words for this week are: owl, sour, mouse, brown, flower.

BK