From Bumpy Road to Weathering the Storm

Happy to report that today started out very well. I was up at 6:30am. I went straight into the kitchen and started cleaning. After I'd gotten the dishwasher packed with as many dishes as it would hold, I decided to do a little cooking.

There were strawberries and blackberries that needed to be eaten, so I cut up the strawberries and added them to the blackberries with a bit of sugar. When I put them back in the frig to marinate, I realized that I had chicken marinating. Out came the chicken, the green pepper, half an onion, and some celery. I pulled out my red, Martha Stewart roaster that I got at 75% off at Macy's and threw in the chopped veggies and chicken over the brown rice and chicken broth that I'd put in the bottom of my Red Roaster. Voila! Lunch! I put it in at 400 degrees for an hour and realized that I'd like some fresh coffee.

I like to add a little vanilla and cinnamon to my coffee. Cinnamon is good for me, and I like it. The vanilla seems to take a bit of the bitterness out of the coffee. Pushing the button on the coffee maker, I looked up at the clock. It was 7:15am. Le Tour would be starting in fifteen minutes; so I poured myself a cup of coffee, got the berries out of the frig and took them to my room. I headed back into the kitchen and hooked up the dishwasher for its first load of the day. Heading back to my room, I was incredibly happy with myself and proud, too. Again, I felt very akin with my grandmas. That's always a good thing.

There seems to be some sort of time-warp that happens in the morning. I mean, forty-five minutes to get all that done?! Amazing. Absolutely wonderfully amazing.

When I got back to my room, Sammy was laying in my spot on my bed. She's taken to doing this lately. I didn't want to move her, so I went into BB's room and got his computer.

Just as I was heading back to my room, the house phone rang. It was my sister. I'd been meaning to call her back especially since her last message was, "Hi. I'm just calling to see if everything's OK. Are you still alive? If Michelle is dead, could someone please call me and let me know." Oops. I've been neglecting to call her for a variety of reasons; none of which are any good.

We had a good talk. She had concrete help to offer. She always does. I'll have to call her back tomorrow because we never did touch base again today. She was headed into her house to put away groceries and get a few phone numbers for me, and I was headed to watch Le Tour.

Sammy was still looking so very comfortable when I returned. I did my best to set my "work station" up without moving her, but eventually she did move. This was a good thing because I needed to be able to see Le Tour on my computer while I worked on BB's computer. I also needed to carefully place my berries on my bed because the table beside my bed was full of remotes and my coffee.

With Le Tour set up on my computer, I started eating my berries and wondering where Thor was today. I'd figured that today would be a good day for him to get in a breakaway, so he could gather some intermediate points and regain the Green Jersey; the Maillot Vert.

There was a breakaway of eighteen out on the road, and Thor was a part of it. Not only was Thor a part of it, but he had tied Alejandro Petacchi for the Green Jersey because he came in second behind a Lampre rider on the first intermediate sprint. Alejandro Petacchi rides for Lampre, and his teammate was charged with out sprinting Thor during the stage because Petacchi had missed the breakaway. Cycling is a team sport. :D

Thrilled with Thor's progress and ready to watch the race and scenery, I started eating BREAKFAST! Oh my Goodness Gracious ME! I ate breakfast! I had my berries and coffee. Yum, yum, yum. The berries were too good. My coffee was too good. The race was too good. Happy, happy day.

After I'd eaten for a while, I got BB's computer up and running. I had a job application that I had to turn by the end of today. This was the whole reason for the two computer set-up. I got to work on finishing my job app, munched on my berries and watched as the kilometers passed. It was a very pretty stage of Le Tour. It was especially pretty because Thor was in the breakaway. sigh :D

Soon the second sprint was approaching. I was so nervous that I had to stop munching on my berries and working on my job application. Could he do it? I wanted to close my eyes, but that was a woosie way out; so I braced myself and watched. Thor won! Thor won the second intermediate sprint, and I saw it! he was now ahead by six points! Oh what glory. He was so happy. He smiled a huge smile and slightly raised his right fist in a proud victory pump. Beautifully done. He had to work hard for it, too. It was a bit of a mountain stage, and most sprinters don't like any part of going uphill.

I saw a picture of Thor and Lance Armstrong last year. The caption said that they were training together. There were mountains around them. Thor's been improving his mountain climbing abilities, and it's proving to be his saving grace. His body mass has changed as a result. He's still big, but he seems a bit leaner. He's definitely improved on the foothill stages. He used to look so miserable whenever the road went up. Not any more. He's added new tricks to his arsenal. Just too good for mere words, People.

After Thor had gotten the second intermediate sprint points, he relaxed and let the peloton catch him. He was still smiling. It wasn't a bad thing that he let the peloton catch him. The final kilometers of the race were up a nasty climb, and he hasn't gotten to be that good at climbing mountains. Being with the peloton, he could keep an eye on Petacchi. He could also use the peloton to protect himself from the crosswinds. He could also ride with other riders who were sure to finish farther back in the pack like him. It's always easier to ride with others. Letting the peloton catch him was a very smart move because winning a jersey in Le Tour de France is all about gaging the amount of energy expended. Thor knows this. He's ready for tomorrow which could be another day to go out for more intermediate sprint points in the hilly terrain.

So with Thor back in Green, I focused on getting all my documents properly formatted. Soon BB appeared at my door. I told him of some of my concerns about my documents, and he had answers.

After we talked about that things got a bit wonky. It's entirely too personal to write about yet, but for as well as my day started out; it soon became not good at all.

I was unaware of how nerve-wracking it was going to get when I asked BB if he wanted to help me get the new desks up into the office. I'm glad because we did. It went so smoothly. We really worked together nicely. You just wouldn't believe how wonderful it is to be sitting at our new desks writing this right now.

We have three new desks in our office. They are from Crate & Barrel. They are gray metal frames with sea foam green, tempered glass tops. Two are 21 1/2 inches by 55 inches. One is roughly 30 inches by 40 inches and has a slide-out tray for a keyboard or storage of two laptops, as the case is.

We put the gray, brown, and white dresser and the triangle-shaped desk out in the garage for the sale later this month. BB and I talked about lay-out and agreed to his preference which creates three to four work areas. The gray bookcase is back against the wall. The whole office space has opened up and is so slick. I really can't tell you how psychologically calming this is. That was the plan, though.

"Just keep thinking, 'Psychologically Calming'," I kept saying as we would walk out into the living room and look at our office space.

We did it! Yea US!

WAIT! Where was Ziggy? Oh Shit!

Sure enough, Ziggy had escaped the house. BB and I went barreling outside calling and covering both sides of the house and yard. BB found him hiding under the Lincoln. He appeared to be pretty unhappy. Not a bit surprise considering it was very hot and humid. BB was able to capture him. Poor Ziggy with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and panting so hard. I reassured him that we would turn on the bathtub faucet, so he could have some nice cold water.

"Then you can remember what a great home you live in, and why you like to stay inside, Sir," I admonished him.

He meowed in response and was duly returned to his safe homestead much to everyone's relief. He emerged from the bathroom and proceeded to freak out over the new office. He was greatly disturbed and left the room meowing. I later found him asleep in our porch as far way from the office as possible.

Our plan was that BB would take off when we had finished installing the new desks. He did take off, and I was left to handle things on my own. That was OK. I could do that. I had experience and know-how. I was willing. I'd just keep my mouth shut a lot and listen.

While I waited for something to happen that would give me a sign of what to do, I set up our computers in our office and started finishing my job application with the July 16th deadline. I thought of an old friend who always used to tell me, "That's OK. I know how to be productive."

I sent a quick email to the woman who gave us the desks to thank her again. Soon she called me back. We had a very nice conversation. She told me that she'd also received my email with my resumes and references; and that, she'd hire me if she had any work at all. She wanted to be sure that I understood that in this economy it wasn't me; it was just the economy. Well that did make me feel good. She's a very nice lady.

After our phone call was over; I scanned my documents, combined PDF files, wrote a cover letter, and made sure that all my information was correct on my application. Finally satisfied with my application, I clicked "Submit." Done. I met my deadline.

This took a while, but it was so good to be productive in the face of grave circumstances. It felt good to overcome. It felt good to try and succeed. It felt good to win one. I met a deadline while dealing with an anxiety attack and great fear; the kind of fear that only a parent can feel when they have only their wits, love, insight, and need to present a solid and stable persona. It's nerve-wracking but survivable.

So with food in our bellies and a new and calming office, we were able to get through the surprise that landed at our doorstep today. It was completely emotionally and physically exhausting; but we got through it. We weren't always composed, nor did we have all the answers; we just put our mind to it and did our best. As a result of our efforts; all of us appear to be safe, two loads of dishes were washed in the dishwasher, almost all of the other dishes were washed by hand, more cooking took place, hugs were given, and all creatures were attended to and listened to. In the end, at least on this home front, we've laughed again.

I don't know what the final outcome will be to the disturbing part of our day, but as far as I know; there is great potential for a happy and loving resolution. I'm encouraging everyone to think good thoughts, throw it up to "the powers that be", and take better care of ourselves, in general.

BB said, "You know, it's important to eat well and get enough rest. I feel so much better when I eat well and get enough rest.... HINT."

He was directing this at SA, who had come over to decompress from her day. SA and I looked at him, and I asked, "You mean me?"

"Well, actually," BB began, "I guess it applies to all of us."

All three of us agreed that we can do better when it comes to taking care of ourselves. We also agreed that it was probably a good thing that the day started out so well. It gave us the energy and tools we needed to overcome the scary and disturbing parts of our day. We agreed that this was a very important lesson, so ....

Let's all do our best to take better care of ourselves because we just need to today and everyday. It is easier to handle the rough patches when you've eaten a bit, had a bit of rest, and know you can count on each other.

Find something to inspire you to be a better person. One of the places I find inspiration is Le Tour de France because it's a grueling and dangerous race that few ever get to ride in and even fewer complete. The scenery is beautiful, too.

Thor Hushovd is one of the people who inspire me in this race. He lost the Green Jersey yesterday. Did he give up? NO! He showed up and raced, kept his head, and succeeded in winning it back. He's raced Le Tour de France since 2000 (I think) and has succeeded in improving his skills because he's learned from his failures and his successes. He's sought out mentors to help him with his weaknesses. He's dedicated himself to becoming the best cyclist that he can become. He's doing it in such a glorious fashion that even if he doesn't win the Green Jersey this year; I will continue to be inspired by him and strive to emulate him in my personal life.

I can hear Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin saying, "Professionals don't panic." I add to that statement, "Professionals show up sick, injured and scared."

Here's to all of us who are doing our best in difficult times. We are not alone, nor have we given up. We're discovering a lot about ourselves and others during these times. Remember that if you need help, all you have to do is ask. If you're asked to help, please do so.

Take care, All. Many blessings your way. I'm off to think good thoughts and probably even say a few prayers. Seems like a good way to end this day.

"Now I lay me down to sleep ...."