The blog, the baby, and the charging cord.

My blog post is late because my computer does not work without the charging cord. My husband and I had an opportunity this past weekend to see our granddaughter, Jubilee. It had been ten weeks since I’d seen her and more than that for my husband. We packed, and then we were off! Yay, on our way to see Jubilee (and Genette and Abe too, but you know how it is when you have a grandchild).

When we arrived at their home we unpacked the car and got settled in, then spent time with Jubilee, Genette and Abe. I brought my computer along with me so I could get some work done while our sweet little one was sleeping. I knew I had a blog to write so that would be the first thing to do. Jubilee went to sleep and I grabbed my computer. I opened it up and the popup said I was low on power. No problem, I’ll just grab my charging cord and plug it in.

(Warning: Run-On-Grammatically-Incorrect-Sentence Ahead!) I pulled out everything I had in the ‘cord pocket’ of my computer bag and it wasn’t there — I must have put it in the same section as my computer — nope, not there; in with my notebooks maybe? Not there; back to the cord pocket: nope, computer section: still no, notebooks… Really Lona? You already checked that too…hmmm, suitcase: not there… pause with hands on hips and think… must be in the bag with your tatting, journal, and book… nope, but I found a hair tie! Food bag…that was empty… where is that thing?!

Then the baby whimpers, the computer goes back in the bag and this Grandmother plays with her Grandbaby.

So ends the search for the computer charging cord. Steven and I got home a couple of days later and guess what? The cord was still plugged into the wall near my desk. So, the blog post is late because I left the charging cord at home…

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Besides, seriously, who could resist this little one?

Purple Carrots Bleed

Oh, my, gosh!! There are some super crazy things you learn only by experience. I learned one of these super crazy things today.  I love multicolored vegetables, but then again, I love lots and lots of color — so it’s only natural that like to see lots of color on my dinner plate.

For dinner, I baked chicken breasts with potatoes. The vegetable I prepared to go with this was sliced multicolored carrots: orange, white, and purple. There were some leftovers, so I put everything in the same bowl in the refrigerator knowing it would make a great lunch in a day or two.

Today when I went to warm them for lunch I quickly learned that purple carrots “bleed”! I learned this because all of the carrots were purple, the potatoes were purple, and the chicken was blue. I warmed them up anyway and ate them and they were good.  I suppose that there is an analogy in there, like: never judge a lunch by its color or pull out the purple carrots before you put leftovers in the refrigerator.

That’s my story for today.

For Humanity

It was Monday and there was near panic in the woman’s eyes as she approached her husband.

“Saturday is the day,” she said. “I can’t do this alone.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I have to, but I don’t want to. You know how difficult this is for me.”

“I know,” her husband said as he put his arms around her then gently wiped away the tear and kissed her cheek. “It’ll be ok; you know you can do this. I’ll be right beside you. I have to do it too”.

“I can,” she said, “We can, there is no other way. It is for the good all humanity”.

The anticipation in the house was not one of excitement but rather a feeling of dread. The woman wanted it to just be over, but time marches at its own pace and does not consider the events at hand. If there was another option, the woman would have taken it but… there wasn’t. She knew in her heart that everyone must walk through their own valley of death at some point. “Humanity,” she whispered, “the good of humanity”.

She was human too and it would benefit her as much as anyone, probably more. She lived and worked among so many; she had to keep them all from harm. Was she a super hero? No. She was ordinary, with ordinary fears, and an ordinary life. This duty, this charge was placed upon this ordinary woman, and she was afraid as she was every year at this time when she had to face the same crisis for the sake of herself and all those around her. She always made the same choice; it was the better choice, but not easy in the least for her.

Saturday came and the woman and her husband woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and got in their van to face the noble deed. It was not difficult for the man at all but for the woman it was a tremendous strain. She’d had this fear within her since she was a child and it grew like The Blob from the old horror movie. Still, she had no doubt that she was doing the right thing. “Humanity,” she said to herself, “My children are human. I do this for them and my grandchild”.

She drove, her husband sat beside her. All was silent in the vehicle until her husband turned on the radio. The woman didn’t care, she just wanted it to be over.

After 20 minutes of travel they arrived at their destination. They opened their doors, got out of the van, shut and locked them. It only took two steps for them to tightly grab hands, supporting one another as they entered the building.

They walked to the back. With each step anxiety built up. This event would take place in a small secret place but they would be together. They both answered personal questions to a woman they did not know, then showed proof and papers that they were supposed to be there. Each was told to sit in a chair. A cart was rolled in and then it happened…

They got their flu shots.

And when it was all over they bought apple turnovers because the woman faced her fear and puff pastries made her feel better.

This Blog is Late

This blog is late. I mean like really late! So late, in fact, I thought why bother. But then I thought why not just write about being late. So I am blogging about this blog being late.

It began with the internet. I was out of town last week, and the internet wouldn’t connect. So, whatever I wrote would not be able to be posted. Then my mind was blank. I sat down several times to write but nothing came, the words didn’t flow, they got mixed up, they didn’t say what I wanted them to say.

I have several half-finished blogs that will probably never see the light of day. If they do, they will not be the same as what is currently written. I will have to change them around, reword them, shake them up, do it differently.

At one point, I had a feeling of almost panic. AHHHH, I’m late!!! Then it occurred to me: I’m just late. It’s no big deal. There are times when being late is a big deal. Take, for instance, flying. If you are late for the plane, it leaves without you. Or voting. If you are delayed by a day, then you can’t vote. Then there are times when you cannot control being late, as in giving birth. My last two babies were late; my son by ten days and my youngest by, wait for it…21 days (and then we had to make her come)!

Then there is the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, who is always running late.

That’s all for now; my husband just asked me if I’d like to go for a walk in about 10 minutes. I must get ready, so I’ll be on time.

It is National Vanilla Pudding Day

Today is National Vanilla Pudding Day. Did you know that vanilla pudding had its own day? I didn’t. It is also National Solitaire Day. Who knew that solitaire needed a day, too? Maybe Vanilla Pudding Day was created to support Solitaire Day… obviously, you eat vanilla pudding while you play solitaire. Also, it is National Buy a Musical Instrument Day. So, you go out and buy an instrument after you are bored from playing solitaire and eating vanilla pudding? I like to look up National Days; I find them amusing.

What’s the story behind them?

Who registered Vanilla Pudding Day? Why was that so important to them?

How about solitaire? Who came up with that?

I don’t know the real stories behind these “special” days, but I do believe they are the start of a great tall tale.

Have a good day. I think I’ll play some solitaire, eat some vanilla pudding, and go buy an instrument.

What are you going to do today?