A Morning in the Life

I was up at 6:30 because my neck insisted.

"No more sleep for you!" it said. "Get out of this bed right now or I am only going to give you grief for a fourth day in a row."

Well, what choice did I have? Up I got. And settled myself upright in the easy chair, drank a cup of coffee, and nearly finished reading Quiet, by Susan Cain. It's about introverts and extroverts. I wish I'd read it when Everett was a child; maybe I could've helped him cope better, introvert that he is. 

 

At 7:30 we were off to Scott's mom's for breakfast. Well, he was off in his truck. I still had to get dressed, but said I'd be there shortly; I'd walk. 

"You won't get there before 8:30," he said. 

"As if," I sniffed. "When have you ever known me to spend a half-hour in the bathroom, curling my hair and putting on my makeup? Pfft. I'll be there by eight."

And so I was. It was cold out and windy and took 20 minutes of brisk walking. I wore a thick checkered coat under a windbreaker with the hood up over a tuque, and a scarf and gloves. There were gunshots to the south, which made me nervous, and lightning and thunder in the north. Scott came driving back to see if I'd like a ride but I'd warmed up by then, halfway there. When I said no but thanks that is sweet of you, he told me he'd seen a dark animal larger than a dog crossing the road ahead of me. Shit, said I, what do you think it was? No idea, said he. 

"Well if I'm not there in 15 minutes, send a search party into the bushes. If it drags me off, it won't eat my bright red coat."

In the jar I'm making a medicinal tincture with the herb motherwort; on the table are spearmint and wild yarrow, dried, for tea.

Reply to Comments

Maggie Turner on "Please Make Me a Choir": 

I agree Julie, it is such a shame! I loved to sing until that experience. The thing about music was that I didn't hear it at any other time than at school, except a little bit on Captain Kangaroo, I had no experience with it at all, and had never practised using my voice to sing, it was unthinkable. I can soar with the eagles in my mind's ear. 

Julie on "Please Make Me a Choir": 

Hi, you ladies! To Kate, maybe some willing friend who knows lots of good songs can teach you some and then you can start your own choir. 

I'm fussy. I want a choir in my living room; actually I want a barbershop quartet.  - Kate

To Maggie: It is personal to me because I have helped so-called non-singers to sing and I am scathing towards the people who ruined a natural pleasure for so many people. There are so few people who can't sing--if they are tone-deaf and can't hear the difference between notes. I have only met one person like that in a lifetime full of choirs and groups and singing at home with friends. Ironically, the tone-deaf woman sang with gusto; it sounded awful but I was so happy to hear it, my heart was so very lifted up with the joy she was spreading!