Skunks and Junk

Re-entering the real world after three weeks in Hawaii has been hard, particularly the last few days. I know you're thinking, "Oh poor you." I know. People died in Oklahoma yesterday; many others lost everything they own. I do have some sense of perspective. But this is my blog and I get to use it to whine a little, now and then. This is one of those times.

I wrote earlier about how I was having trouble getting back on my my normal sleep schedule. That has improved a lot, but I'm still find the idea of sleeping until 10:00am appealing. I finally got all the suitcases unpacked and stored away and the dirty laundry sorted into piles -- bleach, lights, reds, darks, dry cleaning -- even though I haven't eliminated all the piles yet. I'm still sorting and editing photos, thinking about how I can share them with you.

My head didn't want to work at all yesterday. I sat down several times to try to write a post but it just wasn't coming together. I had really bad news the night before and I just couldn't get my mind off my friend, Judy. I received an email from her last week, thanking me for the mother's day ecard I sent her and telling me she was out in California to take care of her son Scott, who was going to have minor back surgery. The really bad news we got this week was that Scott died at home, two days after the surgery. Judy was with him and, as you can imagine, she is devastated. They are trying to determine the cause but don't know yet. 

My head and heart are filled with painful memories and, in talking to mutual friends, dread the fact that I know what's ahead for Judy. Judy realizes that too, and told one of our friends to, "Ask Annette. She knows how I'm doing." All I can do is make myself available to her whenever she gets back. The days and nights will be long. 

I tried all day yesterday to shake the feelings. Then about 3:00, the news about Oklahoma starting coming in, particularly focusing on the children in the eradicated elementary school. My heart sank even further until I just had to turn off the television, not able to absorb any more. 

My usual comfort system, playing with the dogs, wasn't working because the dogs weren't here. They were at the groomer. Something else that happened in the last few days was that Ruffles got skunked late Wednesday night. I bathed her once in peppermint shampoo, all I could find in a panic. That helped some. The next day I made the concoction recommended on the internet -- baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and liquid soap. That helped even more. By the time she got home yesterday there was just a trace of odor left and when she came in the door, both she and I started feeling better. Lucy, too. 

Dog therapy, laundry and busy work got me through today and although still sad, I'm coping much better. Enough to go through some Hawaii photos to find a memory that really made me smile the day it happened. We were at Bellows Beach on Oahu for the day. Next to our "setup" was a woman with two little girls. All three spent most of the day digging a big hole in the sand and were having the most marvelous time. I watched them with glee, laughing out loud at times, particularly when the little baby girl would shove sand in her mouth, then turn and laugh at me. 

 
It made me smile today. I hope the same for you. Thanks for stopping by.