I did a long list of chores on Sunday, but there are still projects that I need to do around the house. It is time for a deep cleaning, washing rugs and sweeping behind furniture. I would also like to paint our dining room hutch since Ikea is never going to have the replacement cabinet in stock. I am taking a week of vacation time to do all of those things, but before I dig into cleaning, I’m escaping for the weekend.

I signed myself up for an all women’s retreat in Hot Springs, AR and two of my friends from camp will be riding in the car with me. We leave in a very short few hours and I can’t really wait to hit the road. When I left work yesterday, I left behind some smoldering fires. The 488 laser is out on our spinning disk confocal and people are supposed to be here (supposed to be) today to start in on the repair. The plate loading robot for our high content confocal is currently stuck holding a plate because it lost connection with the microscope and as much as I tried to communicate with tech support for this, I was unable to get any answers or replies. I did the only thing I could do and that was to throw my hands in the air and walk out of the building.

I almost feel the same way about home. The lawnmower is in pieces and we’re still fending off raccoons. Michael trapped one yesterday. I think it was Ralph. Emerson is bigger and I have yet to determine if there is a Waldo. I was told that if you think there are two raccoons, then there are really four or five of them. The light for Micheal’s new ceiling fan is not working properly and might involve an electrician. Instead of sticking around here and dealing with this current state of chaos, I’m hopping into a car to spend a weekend digging crystals and doing yoga. There’s some sort of moon ceremony happening. Basically, I’m playing witch for a weekend. Or pretending to be a little bit Scarlet.

Today is about trust. I leave here having to put all of my trust in other people to handle the smoldering fires until I return. I have to trust that Michael will remember to close the dog doors at night and that the techs who are supposed to show up will actually show up and fix the laser. It’s okay if some of those fires are still smoldering when I return. I have to trust that other people will tend to the smoldering fire to keep it from becoming a full blaze before I return.

Now I’m off to dig up some crystals.