A Million Little Things

I can see his grin, the shrug of his shoulders as I recite the latest catastrophe. I can see the grains of chew stuck between the bottom teeth, and his lower lip big and round, like he stuffed a marshmallow in it. "Eh, what're you gonna do?" And then the shrug.

What a gift to me - to be able to see his face so clearly, and hear his voice. It was a big loss to heaven. A big loss. They got him, I got the memories.

In the past four weeks, I've had a rough road. A bunch of little things infecting my days - like poisonous spider bites trying to wreak havoc on the rest of my life. Here's the list:

1. Sunburn - ruby red legs, back, face, arms and neck; the bubbling of skin, the peeling and peeling and peeling and then the itch. I'm still itching in some areas and it's a bit embarrassing, to say the least. Good thing it wasn't a nude beach. I only say that because I spent most of my time with Cliff on that beach, and ewwww, can you imagine that?

2. A bacterial infection in my small and large intestines, causing severe abdominal pain and some blockages. I am happy to say that the abdominal pain has subsided to only hurting when I laugh (which isn't that often), and the blockages have exploded into little pieces.

3. A workload that has put me over the top. Deadlines, plus my side job (contracts as a consultant for extra cash) with deadlines, plus two beautifully energetic children, who, by the way, have been concerned about my health, and so react in a hyper way - not a sympathetic way. (As an aside, I am very grateful for a job, and for the extra side-income job).

4. I lifted two garbage cans into the back of my truck after a twelve hour workday, and when I hit the brakes to go over the speed bump, all the dirty garbage water gushed into the entire back of the truck... about two inches of water that stunk! I spent the next morning steam cleaning it, and had to wait two days because of monsoon-like weather of Maryland to air it out. I smelled like I worked at the dump.

5. I went to Home Depot last week to pick up some gardening supplies. It took me 20 minutes in the store. When I got back to my car, I saw that some idiot had smashed the whole passenger side of my truck - only about $3000 in damage. Oh, and no note. So I spent two hours in that parking lot, waiting for the police to finish a report. I am happy to announce that it will get fixed for a nominal deductible and I'll be on my way, while some A-hole is telling the story. "Yeah, I took the whole side of that truck out." "Did you leave a note?" "Hell, no. Why would I do that? That would be the nice, golden-rule, kinda thingy to do, and I'm an A-hole."

6. I threw my back out for two days. Nothing like crawling to work, gasping in pain, and trying to explain to the kids that, "Yes, Mommy is in pain again, and cannot run around the house like a big idiot, dancing and playing." (Thankfully, a little heat and some rest helped me out).

7. I prayed to St. Theresa to intercede on these matters. I am waiting to see the rose that tells me she heard and interceded.

8. Perhaps I'll see it on my computer, when I get it back from the shop. Yes, I was working along, on the computer that has all the pictures of my kids, all my i-tunes purchases, all my documents from both jobs, all my short stories, my work--in-progress novels... all of it, when the screen went black. No reaction. Nothing. All gone.

But you know, and here is my point, I'll take a million of these little things if I don't have to lose a fight with heaven again. And even Jeff wouldn't shrug his shoulders at that.