Spring Hopes Eternal

Do you ever have one of those days that just never seems to end?  Yesterday was like that for me.

My day started in the dentist chair at 7:00 AM having my “clown” delivery. (In case you missed my earlier blog when I rescheduled this appointment from last week when I was under the weather (literally), I told the receptionist I needed to reschedule my clown appointment versus crown.)  So, I spent about half and hour there with the ever chipper, Dr. Brooke Flaherty, chatting about kids, diets and snow as she placed my new gold crown on my last remaining “uncoronated”  back molar.  I was already dressed for the gym which was the next stop on my agenda.  Since the appointment took less time than I’d anticipated, I was able to stop by the house to kiss Dave on his way out the door to the dentist and have a cup of coffee before I headed off for my workout.

A combination of illness and bad weather has curtailed my workout sessions with Lorenzo quite a bit these past few weeks so I’m probably not in as prime a shape as I was last month.  Yesterday’s routine of lunges, squats and step-ups with a bar bell across my back followed by ab-work, curls, flies and push-ups really did me in.  (I’m feeling a bit of it this morning.)  Nonetheless, my day was far from over.

For my next trick, I drove off to the church to help clear out a room in the hall that has been used as a repository for miscellaneous items or in other words; a junk room. As I walked into the hall, I noticed yellow crocuses peaking out from the snow.  I took a minute to admire them at snap a photo.  If they could manage to look so cheery in such harsh surroundings, I suppose I could give it a try as well and keep moving.

For the next three hours, four of us worked for a good three hours moving furniture and cleaning.  Our goal was to clean this room out and make it the new office so that the current office could be remodeled into a private quarters for our new priest, giving him a place to stay on the evenings he doesn’t choose to schlep over the mountain back to the rectory.   We made great headway and I was ready to continue when I looked at my watch and realized that if I didn’t get home soon I would miss seeing Dave before he left on an overnight trip.  I headed home again.

I was able to spend a few minutes with my honey before he left and then headed for the Foodlion to get a few things I needed to prepare dinner for neighbors down the street who just had a new baby.  My dinner isn’t expected until this evening, so thankfully, I didn’t have to do any cooking.  Instead, I spent more than a few minutes putting the finishing touches on my guest rooms in preparation for my friend D.J. and her daughter, Bree who were spending the night with me.  Bree had an appointment for a tour of UVA this morning.

About four o’clock D.J. called to say they would be delayed and wouldn’t arrive until later in the evening.  In need of some “me” time, I broke all the rules and had a dinner of popcorn (from the popper, not microwave) and ice cream and ate it watching a “Tonight Show” I’d recorded earlier in the week.  Junk food and Jimmy Fallon; life doesn’t get more decadent than that for me!  After my “meal”, I showered and changed for Mass and then left the neighborhood for the fifth time in one day.

When I got home from church, I had a text from D.J .saying their ETA as 9:30 so I sat and vegged with my feet up.  I’d been up since 5:30; my back ached and I was beat.  About 9:45 I became aware of a buzzing sound near me and not so quickly realized that my phone was vibrating.  I’d forgotten to turn the ringer back on after church.  It was D.J.  She said they’d turned into the snow down the street and the car wouldn’t move.  They were stuck in the mud.  I told her not to worry, I’d be right there.  She was literally only about 100 yards away.  After I hung up, as I was pulling my on my boots, I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do to help her especially since Dave was out-of-town.  I did the only thing I knew to do; I called a friend.

Fortunately Angela was still awake when I called and a few minute later, I was parked in her driveway as she came out her front door armed with cat litter and a flashlight.  We drove down to the end of the street and sure enough, there was D.J.’s Caravan sitting in the middle of the soggy yard on the corner.  With Angela’s light we were able to see just how deeply the front tires were dug into the mud.  With her scoop, Angela piled kitty litter both in front and behind the front tires.  Then we had D.J. alternate between forward and reverse, turning the wheel back and forth but the tires just dug in deeper.

Feeling a need for reinforcements, Angela called her husband, Clark to come see if his brawn could supplement our brains.  A few minutes later, a rather grumpy man arrived on scene and after a quick assessment with the flashlight, determined there was nothing he could do and it would be best to call for roadside assistance.  We were all cold, tired and frustrated so after putting a note on the car, D.J. and Bree grabbed their bags and got into my car to ride back to the house.  Angela rode back with Clark.

Back at the house I called the sheriff’s office to let them know about the car in the yard (since the home owners weren’t home) and D.J. called for a tow in the morning.  Then we relaxed and talked until almost midnight.

I was up early again this morning.  Even though Dave was gone and his alarm didn’t go off, Izzie was still here and ready to eat at sunrise.  Thinking it would be nice to prepare breakfast for my guests, I gave in to one of her early parades across my face and got myself up to make coffee, feed the cat and get breakfast underway.

When I went upstairs to let the ladies know I had warm food waiting, D.J. met me at the top of the stairs with a very dark expression on her face.  Apparently there had been a mix up and the tow truck would not be arriving for another two hours!  I suggested we give another try to getting her car out ourselves.  The ground had become cold and hard overnight and that might work to our advantage.  I threw on my clothes and we drove off to the end of the street.

In daylight, the red Caravan looked rather silly sitting in the middle of the yard at the end of the street.  Anyone driving by would truly be stymied to even imagine what circumstances would cause it to be there.  Perhaps a deer ran in front of the car? Possible.  Ice?  Nope, it was way too warm for that.  Hmmmm?

Regardless of what others may have thought, we were hopeful as we stepped onto the firm frozen ground.  Before we started I suggested we say a little prayer.  D.J. prayed for God’s help and I added we would still love Him even if He decided it was best for us to wait for the tow truck and then she climbed in to the driver’s seat.

Alternating between drive and reverse and turning the wheel slightly from left to right, the front tires eventually caught and crawled out of the frozen muddy hole.   Triumphantly D.J. drove across the remaining bit of lawn to the driveway and then followed me back home where she called to cancel her service call.

We had a nice breakfast and soon she and Bree were off to UVA to begin another adventure.  As for me, after I finish my story, I will begin preparing the meal for the family down the street with the new baby, catch up on my email and God willing, catch a nap sometime this afternoon.  Since my “retirement” from full time employment, these types of days are more and more becoming my norm.  Depending on my list of tasks, they can be draining or exhilarating.  At least for the time being, I’m going to keep my mind’s eye focused on that little yellow flower, sharing its color despite the snow.