FRIENDS LIKE THESE

Our weekend plans with my brother and sister-in-law fell through rather suddenly and it kind of paralyzed us for a few minutes. We had done all the weekend chores ahead of time. Laundry was done. The tiny grocery list for the week was taken care of. The Cabbage got to go to the school dance that they were originally going to miss. It was Michael’s birthday weekend and the weather was really nice. It seemed a bit dumb to spend it sitting on the couch. So we decided to drive over to Lawrence and explore the shops on Mass. Street. I was a little concerned that this would be a bad idea because it was Sunflower Showdown weekend. Kansas named their rivalry game after a flower; in Oklahoma its’ called Bedlam. Maybe Oklahoma rivalries are more rowdy. I mean, just two weekends ago Oklahoma State fans threw our goal post into Theta Pond in celebration of our win over OU.

There were a few day drinkers out stumbling from bar to bar, but the game started later in the evening, so the crowds were not bad. Truth be told, those day drinkers were normal day drinkers for a Saturday in a college town. We had an easy time of strolling up and down the street and browsing around in some of the shops. We found a really great thrift clothing store where the Cabbage found a clunky pair of Mary Janes in their size. I nabbed a wool dress coat that still had the original tags and a comfy sweater. Then we wandered around a used bookstore. At one point, I was standing in front of a display of old books. My back was turned to the cashier and I could hear her talking to someone on the phone. This is what I overheard: “Look, you’ve made it this far. You only have two more months. You’re doing really great. I’m so proud of you.”

I stood there for few minutes, pretending to be interested in the books in front of me and I thought what a great friend this person is. She sounded honest and genuine in her support for the person on the other end of the line. Most of us have that person who will call with similar words of support, but it is nice to know and witness that sort of support in the wild. I bought a ridiculous old paperback, purely for the cover and when I walked up to the cashier, I saw a skinny mangy looking black cat pacing along the counter. A small child was trying to pet it and the cat eyed him with suspicion before moving securely out of reach. I paid for my book and met Michael and the Cabbage outside. Later on Michael asked me if I had seen that woman in the bookstore talking to the cat. I looked at him and relayed the words I had heard. Then I said “She wasn’t on the phone?” He laughed and replied “No. She was saying all of that to the cat.”

What a lucky cat.

We left Lawrence in time to go over to Jenn and Wade’s for the tail end of their Friendsgiving, an even that we thought we were going to miss. We walked in and were immediately embraced with strong hugs and plates of food. All the others had eaten already and the crowd of guests with small children were packing to leave. Wade sat with us at the table while the three of us ate, giving us his full attention as we discussed everything from our day to where’s the best chicken in the Kansas City. Then we sat around the backyard fire pit with people Michael and I do not know well, but conversation was easy and we laughed so hard at ridiculous things. Eventually we got the nudge from the Cabbage that they were ready for home and bed. We packed up and received more hugs as we departed. I was so grateful that we made it and that they made space for us, that they were genuinely happy to have us there. Making new friends after a certain age and after moving to a new city where you don’t know anyone is not easy. But, I’ve managed to do it. I’ve always been good at collecting interesting people, but I am surprised that I have managed to collect people who think I’m the interesting one.

I would say get yourself someone who speaks to a mangy skinny cat the way that cashier in the shop does, but I suspect you are like me and have number of those someones in your life already.

We are lucky cats.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Morning #makelight

5 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Morning #makelight"

I wrote a lengthy entry on Wednesday talking about Santosha and teaching yoga. Santosha is one of the Niyamas, the eight-limbed path of yoga and is sanskrit for contentment. It was entry about how I might have been using contentment as an excuse to be complacent or I've just been telling myself I'm content when I'm really just lazy. I spent a lot of time on that post. Then I hit the save button and an error page showed up on the screen. I couldn't get anywhere or do anything on the blog because there was some kind of glitch. When I was finally able to get back onto the site, my entry was gone. Wah wah. I did consider trying to rewrite that entry, but I am either content to let it go or too lazy to try to recreate it. 

I ordered a really cute skirt online back in January. It was my birthday present to myself. The skirt is covered with brightly colored elephants. When it arrived, I tried it on and it didn't fit. It was too small. This made me sad for a few reasons. First of all I was sad about my waistline. Then I was sad I couldn't wear my cute new skirt. Then I was sad because I had to go through the whole return process, which just the act of putting a stamp on something these days feels like a hassle. I received a gift card for the full price of the skirt and it has been sitting in my inbox for some time while I decided what I should do next. I had had some time to think about that skirt and now I wasn't so sure if it was the most practical purchase. Maybe I should use the gift card to buy a blouse or some pants. 

I was mulling this over while chatting with Talaura and I showed her my options. She said that she still loved the skirt. I explained that I couldn't really wear it to work because my legs have to be covered. I said it may be a more practical option to buy pants. Then she replied:

Then I told Talaura that she's a good friend and I bought the skirt in a size that would fit me. Of all the places she told me to wear that skirt, it was the one about wearing it to Saturday morning breakfast by myself that made tears prick in the corners of my eyes. Talaura is also the person who gave me a 'merit' badge that reads didn't please everyone. Because she knows me. 

Lena Dunham's character in Girls said in the latest episode "it's hard to know what is going on with others when you are focused on yourself." When I watch that show, I'm not watching it in expectation of hearing any words of wisdom. Girls is a guilty pleasure, but I took that sentence and flipped it around. It is hard to know what is going on with yourself when you are focused on others. This is what I tend to do. I spend a lot of time and energy making life easier for those around me, more so than I spend on taking care of myself or doing nice things for myself.  I am thankful for Talaura for being a good friend and for reminding me to do nice things for myself. 

I am thankful for the days this week where I was able to ride my scooter. I am thankful the patch of poison ivy on my collar bone is clearing up. I am thankful for the bowl full eggs on our kitchen counter. I am thankful for those moments that usually happen early in the morning, when I let Josephine back in from a bathroom break and she wiggles herself under my comforter until she is no longer visible. I am thankful for a skirt covered with elephants. I am thankful for you.

Here's to a lovely weekend and a super Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

She's been a rag doll all day.

See this Instagram photo by @elephant_soap * 7 likes

It turns out that Josephine had quite the crazy time adventure at Uncle Terry's over the weekend. It started Thursday night when Terry came home from work and discovered some crumbles of mouse poison on the floor. Of course, this sent Terry into panic mode who called the vet. The vet said that since there was no way of knowing which of the three beasts got into the poison, they all had to go in. So he rounded them all up and took them to the emergency clinic for a round of vomiting. Turns out it was Max who ate the poison. He didn't eat enough to do any damage, thank goodness, but we did learn that Josephine swallows rawhides whole. I feel worse for poor Terry who had to go through the whole mess than those three rascals who had to puke their guts out. 

Monday morning, I got up and Josephine jumped off the bed and stumbled. Then she started limping and by that evening, she refused to put any weight on her front right paw. Now it was my turn to go into panic mode. I went full on worst case scenario and had already concluded that Josephine would need thousands of dollars worth of surgery. Our vet said to wait it out another day and then bring her in the next day if she had not improved. She has improved. She's still a little gimpy, but will rest on that front paw. The vet said that miniature schnauzers are prone to over doing it and that Josephine probably just strained herself. That seems to be the case and not really a big surprise. Josephine loves Terry's. Really I think she loves Max even more, but she enjoys chasing Miles around the yard. Max and Miles are Terry's children and he treats them as such. So everyone gets twenty bazillion pounds of love sprinkled with treats when they're there. The last time she stayed a weekend at his place, she came home and slept for two days. 

I am thankful for Terry, but not just because he was gracious enough to watch Josephine while we were out of town. Terry is really good at making me believe that I'm doing him the favor by letting Josephine stay over. He is the most gracious human being I have ever known. Every time I check in, Terry goes on and on about how good Josephine is and I half way believe it. But I bet Josephine does act a little better because she's trying to impress Max. Any way, I'm thankful to have Terry and I need to figure out a better way of showing him just how grateful I am than writing about it. A giant bottle of booze seems too easy. Of course, I am also thankful that Josephine is well or at least on her way to fully recovered. I caught her chewing on the cat this morning. So she'll be up to her old shenanigans in no time. 

Earlier this week, I peeled a ruby red grapefruit and split it for my lunch. It was the most delicious thing that I was really sad that I had only packed half of it. It's all I want to eat forever. I am thankful for ruby red grapefruits. I am thankful for kale picked from our garden. I am thankful Albus didn't fill the basement with dead animals while we were gone. I am thankful for the one green tomato that is now sitting in our kitchen window. I am always thankful for you.

Here's to a sweltering hot weekend and a dazzling Thankful Friday!