Furry Idiots Disturbing Wildlife

My mom and I have been sharing space since my father died, and she's a bit eccentric (like I'm NOT ...). This morning was a real corker. Picture little old lady frantic at six am - she woke me up saying ... "Nugget's dug up a turtle and he's out there [in the back yard] trying to open it! You have to come save him!!!" OPEN IT??? Now, I am NOT at my best first thing in the morning, B.C. (BEFORE COFFEE), so I am afraid I growled in response, fell face-first into the pillow, then - FINALLY! - fell out of bed. Publish Post I got outdoors to find Nugget lying on the ground, turtle (!) underneath his front paws - he was holding it upside down, with forearms across the shell, trying to pry the bottom off with his teeth, it the way you rip the protective seal off a Pringle's can. Wow. He was for sure and certain determined to have tortoise for breakfast, I guess. Well, couldn't let THAT happen, so we ran a two-pronged attack - mom and I - she slipped around the edge of the yard, while I distracted him with hot dogs - she nabbed the poor thing, and tossed it over the garden fence. SO We're saving the world, one turtle at a time! Of course, Nugget was unhappy - so much so that he refused the hotdog, walked away from a belly rub, and looked at me, as if to say, "You are SUCH a drag, Woman ..." Oh, well, Tiger ate the hotdog and took the belly rub - now all's right with the world, the turtle decided NOT to come under the fence again, and Nugget will have to wait for another opportunity. THE END.

It's a new day! What haven't you done yet?

Yesterday was BRUTAL - lots of work, lots to do, and very cold. Taught Friday morning, as always, and one of my students asked me a question that has stuck with me since. Kelly was being snarky (poor thing is visibly and somewhat miserably pregnant and can't help herself at times).

She rapped out in the middle of one of my monologues on applications of temperature and heat phenomena to ask - 'What HAVEN'T you done before?'

I heard the collective gasp from the rest of the class - she wasn't meaning it in a good way. Kelly thinks I'm a know-it-all and has no problem letting me know it. So, I am - in certain subject areas, anyway - and I AM getting paid to teach her physics whether she wants to learn it or not.

But as I started to get defensive to keep from getting angry, I paused a second to think - then I replied, 'There are lots of things I haven't done - yet. But I surely plan to!' - and moved on to latent heats of fusion and vaporization. Exciting stuff. She was quiet for about 30 minutes before the next outburst - a new record.

But I've been thinking about that question ever since - we should all be asking ourselves, 'what haven't I done yet?', every morning of every day. And I'm not talking about the housework, the dishes, the taxes, or the laundry, or the stack of exams I have to grade today. I am asking myself, and now I am asking you, what haven't you done already, that's on the list of things you are holding for 'someday', for 'when I retire', for 'when I have more money/time/status'. for 'when I have less to do, less stress, my children are grown, for the slow season at work', etc? Something that YOU - or I - decide deliberately to do, because it's what we want to do at that time.

Whether you're like me, one week from broke on a public college salary and trying to work a home business, or even if you're rich as King Croesus, I'm sure there are things that you want to do that you're putting off for a better time, for 'someday'. Putting off because the kids need you, your spouse needs you, your parents are old, your car needs repair - a million different reasons.

Why should you not do things just because you want to? This assumes you follow the following rule: FIRST, DO NO HARM. That caveat considered, why not do things that make your heart sing - things that might make you wild with joy, happy and eager to get started; things that stay with you and give you a lift through the rest of the day - things that bring some bright light into your life?

Why are we denying ourselves even a bit of that joy?

How about hugs, for example? How about walks in the woods or down the street - 10 minutes to clear your head and breathe new air? Toss a stone in the water, toss a frisbie, How about taking a week a year to bike across the continental divide in meditation, for your holiday season gift to your psyche? I've got a friend that does something like this every year at Christmas - kisses his wife and kids goodbye, loads up his all-terrain bike in his truck, and heads out to the mountains. Think about something you can do - with your family, or alone, and DO it. Block out the time, and enjoy: guilt-free.

I've got a cuddle-bear dog - he stands on his hind legs, puts his front paws around my waist, throws his head back to rest his throat on my chest, closes his eyes and goes 'hmmmm', or as close to it as is possible for a canine to get. I can't help but hug him back. It's really cute, and I'm a firm believer in the old adage that hugs are the spice of life, even the ones from my dog. He hugs me, and tries to hug my mother, he hugs my nieces, my nephews, my brother, and a select few of my friends - he furrows his brow and looks inscrutable and wise, wags his tail and smiles by pulling his doggie lips tight over his fangs, and keeps us all young.

Who does that for you? Think about that one, and I'll be back tomorrow.