"Thou shalt not covet (or hit) they neighbor's ass"

What a week this has been. Truly. Monday was a great day, and I had the whole week before me. Fall (my favorite season!) was here, and the leaves had started to fall, gracefully, and all was well -- until Tuesday morning. Actually, Tuesday morning was also a beautiful day, and my baby girl and I were all cuddled up in our chair as I was feeding her her morning bottle. I gave her one final snuggle and a kiss on the head before I decided it was time to get dressed. Now, daddy loves to dress her up, so all I had to do was give her a bottle, burp and diaper her, and get myself ready. No problem! Mornings are a breeze because we have a system. We both get our morning snuggle time with "Miss Kong" (that's another story) and then it's off to work for both of us.

So, all was well until I decided to put "Miss Kong" in her bouncy seat, which is her favorite place to be while I am getting ready in the morning. I bent over to place her, ever so gently, in her bouncy seat, and my back "POPPED" loudly, and I got stuck. It took some time to right myself, but at least I never dropped the baby, thank God! She was right in her little spot, and she was just fine. There I was. It was too late to call in and get a sub at the last minute like that, and since I was in charge of a senior trip, I HAD to... just HAD to... get all of that taken care of. Sometimes, it really bites to be an hour away from work. I had money to collect, permission slips to file, and a test was scheduled for my sophomores later that week. I finally got dressed, which was a real trick in and of itself, and off to work I went with baby in tow. I called my boss from the road, and I explained that although I was in transit, I hurt like heck and I didn't think I would make it the full day. Thankfully, he found a sub for me, and I managed to get to work, teach a class, and then when my sub arrived, I made the backtrack to pick up the baby and head straight to my chiropractor's office. He did what he could, but I was really messed up, and, honestly, this "crick" is still not totally gone. He said it would be Monday next week before I'd feel much better. The headaches have been phenomenal, and I wondered if I was ever going to get back to normal.

Thursday I still felt like crap, and what was worse (besides not remembering which day of the week I am talking about in my own diary and that's what I get for missing two and a half days of work because of my stupid back) is that my stupid alternator went out in my van. Actually, this happened late Wednesday night, and there was nothing I could do about it since it was well after business hours before we discovered there was an issue, and even then, we thought it was only a bad battery. Grrrr. AAA had to come out early Thursday morning and tow it in for repairs while I was wadded up in a chair with a heatpad all day long. Grrrrr. What a suckie week! Can things possibly get any worse? A freakin' $300 repair, but at least our mechanic is super cool, and he got the van repaired by Thursday afternoon.

Friday morning finally arrives, and although I was still very sore, I was at least up and mobile, and "Miss Kong" and I were ready to get dressed for work again. This time, I'd learned my lesson: I keep her bouncy seat next to my chair, and from here on out, I place her in it before I stand up, and that decreases the back strain since I am not bending over from a fully extended position. So, things are looking better! I joyfully filled my coffee mug, and I grabbed my Maple, Brown Sugar, and Cinnamon Pop Tart, and I loaded up the van. What a BEAUTIFUL MORNING! We were almost on our way!

I live deep in the forested hills of southern Ohio, and we had had a fabulous rainstorm yesterday, so the morning was a really foggy one, which created the most romantic misty morning... "Life is GRAND!" I thought to myself. I grabbed Miss Kong, and I lovingly tucked her into her car seat, and she smiled her shy, but flirtatious little knowing smile (knowing that she has got me heart and soul) and she goo'd and coo'd, and, finally, away we went! YEAH! Visibility was not so great, I noticed, once I hit the road, and I resolved to wait to have my Pop Tart until I had a nice clear stretch of road before me, and that was a grand decision!

Now, we have a long commute, 100 miles roundtrip (yes, I said this before, now, didn't I?); so on the way down, I was thrilled to hear "Proud Mary" by CCR pop up onto XM Radio. YES! This was the best morning ever! Can life get any better? Guess I am easily amused, huh? But, life, to me, is about the simple things... As I'm driving along, I think, "Gosh, I have GOT to get the family to an Ohio University football game just to see the The Most Exciting Band in the Land!" Ohio University's Marching 110.... because ain't no one plays "Proud Mary" (or anything else, for that matter!) as well as the The Ohio University Marching 110!. Then... THERE IT WAS!!! OH MY GOD! Please, lord, do NOT let me hit this thing... what is it? Jeepers Creepers REALLY DOES exist, and it's right here, in the middle of the road!

Thankfully, I do not hit this hideous thing! Afterall, I could not be late for work; however, this monstrosity was still wandering, lazily, in the middle of the road! "Thank you, God for preventing me from hitting that thing" I whisper to myself, and I laid on my horn to wake the houses nearby so that they would realize that a goblin was in their midst -- it was only 6:30 a.m.! There it was... a darned donkey! Yes, you read it right. There was a donkey wandering about in the middle of the road on the foggiest morning in like forever, AND... I didn't hit it! YAY ME!

Now, this is a long and winding road, and it has it's peaks and valleys, and since this thing came out of nowhere, I decided that in order to ensure the safety of this poor dumb beast, I should call the county sheriff's office, and that I did! I explained to them that there was a donkey running loose on "X Road" and that I was NOT making a crank call, I promised. They kinda giggled, but they heard me out, even though I was unable to give them a street number because I was too busy trying to NOT hit the donkey. With such low visibility, how in the world would I ever notice the number on the mailbox? Anyway, I gave them a perfect description of the house that it was walking towards, and they said they'd send a deputy out right away.

Whew. All safe! Miss Kong and me, the donkey, and any other motorists who might be traveling this road...

Life is just a little different out here in 'dem woods, now, ain't it? Traveling to work can be such an adventure!

The moral of this story is: "Do not covet (or hit) thy neighbor's ass."

. . . and life goes on.


Just a plug here, for my very favorite college marching band! Other great songs performed by the Ohio University Marching 110, "Long Train Runnin'" and, one of my other favs, "Ain't Been Good".

Enjoy the greatest of ALL Ohio college bands by buying one of their CDs, which can be found here: The Ohio University Marching 110!