Wanderings for Wednesday

Tomorrow will bring yet another journey:
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My beautiful mom had total knee replacement surgery yesterday and is doing fine. But she is the sole source of transportation in the household and that's where I come in. I'll be the driver for all groceries, doctor's visits, meetings, and whatever other trouble Idahoans find themselves in. Plus, I'll get a little time with sister....and she'll have adequate time to remind me that I'm several years old than she. Pleasant, she is. Plus, it's going to be a little difficult to be entrenched in one of our nation's Republican strongholds for a week -- the very week before our presidential election. I made it clear that I simply could not be in Boise on Election Day -- there aren't enough drugs in the world to provide me with solace. Blogging will be intermittent at best for a week.

Following my time in Boise, hubby and I will be going to Seattle for our 10th Anniversary celebration soiree with our company. They'll wine and dine us properly, I hope. I've bought new underwear and fresh set of unscathed pearls for the affair. We'll be home on Halloween day in time to start one of the busiest months of work that I've had for a while. And, I have to say, I'm actually looking forward to getting back to work, making enough money to actually pay the bills, and refocusing a bit.

Speaking of November, I will be having the opportunity to meet yet another fellow blogger in Vancouver, BC, during the month. TurnipHed and I share similar professions and are fortunate enough to find ourselves in the same city on the same day. I can hardly wait -- who knows what he's thinking. He's probably searching for a new bottle of Valium.

And as I've been going about my washing, scrubbing, cleaning, packing duties for the day, I've had this good friend on my mind. His post today reminded me of the ups and downs that each of us face in our lives. Some appear to have it better than we do. Others clearly have it worse -- like the sinking feeling hubby and I had in our hearts a few days back when an ambulance raced past us down the road. We nearly always say to each other, "Someone's having a bad day." And imagine our even deeper sadness when we discovered the ambulance had pulled up alongside Our House of Portland, our local HIV/AIDS home. But when I read my comrade's heartfelt words that "Maybe I can't smile right now. Maybe I don't love everything and everyone in the world and maybe sometimes I want to curl up into a fetal position in a private corner in my room and bawl my eyes out for no particular reason." it causes me a moment of pause. As much as I hate it when I have these types of feelings, I hate it even more when my hubby or this good buddy has them. I just hate to see people struggle. I encouraged him to have bad days and tears and struggle with purpose. With a specific purpose in mind. Call those feelings exactly what they are -- name them. And then have them with meaning and purpose. Embrace the feelings of wanting to be miserable and selfish and pouty (his words). It's the beginning of having power over them. He's made it clear that sharing them out in the open is far better than bottling them up inside. And he's right. I'm so happy that whatever forces you believe in brought us together as friends.