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05/23/2002 Archived Entry: "Balance"
This afternoon I thought, self, you haven't had much good to say about anything in a long time, and it's silly not to have more joy in your life.
Today I had 13 vials of blood drawn, and I went to the chiropractor. There's the obligatory health update. ;)
Sometime around 5pm, I decided to go out on the deck with a book, a glass of water, and the dogs. Geoff stayed inside; he still had work he needed to finish. I read for possibly 10 minutes.
One afternoon a few weeks back, the little girl from the house next door approached our fence and asked questions about the dogs, so I invited her over to play with them. After much reassurance -- "they will bark; they will jump; they will NOT bite" -- she and her mom came over.
The little girl is Jocelyn, and her mother is Dora. Dora doesn't speak much English, so she just sat on a bench and watched Jocelyn play. Geoff was out there with me that day, and the two of them threw balls for Jake for over an hour. Jake had the best time ever. :) Sharou's not one for chasing balls, so he spent most of that time on the bench next to me.
Today when I went out I could hear kids playing next door, but didn't pay attention til Jake went over and started barking. Jocelyn was barking back ... when I couldn't stand it anymore (I'm such a grinch) I looked over and said, "Hi Jocelyn!"
"My mom said I could come over if I stayed in the yard, and not in the house." she informed me. (She sounds just like Frances, I swear she does.)
"That's good!" I said. "Do you want to come play with the dogs?"
"Today's my brother's birthday."
"Are you having a party?"
"We didn't invite anyone. It's just us. And my cousin and my cousin and my cousin and my cousin are here. And my aunts and uncles."
"That's very nice!"
"Can I come play with Jake?"
"Sure! But you have to come through the house into the backyard; if I open that gate the dogs will run out."
"Ok!"
So Jocelyn and 3 of her cousins descended upon the yard. For just over two hours, they threw balls for the dogs, shrieked, ran, chased the dogs, picked up & carried the dogs, and generally were happy excited little girls. :) It was wonderful.
Jocelyn pointed out that I wasn't wearing shoes. "I know," I said. "Your feet look ..... white." she said, consideringly. I laughed -- "They match the rest of me." She wondered if she could bring the yellow duckies out of my bathroom for the dogs to play with. "No," I said, "they'll eat them!" "Are they candy?" she asked. I couldn't help laughing. "No, they're made out of this latex-rubber stuff. They're bathtub toys for babies." "Oh," she said. "Are you going to have a baby?" "Yes, in August."
Sometimes the universe has perfect timing.