First true rainy day

Today I will mark on my calendar that we had the first truly rainy day since the monsoons of early summer that flooded our torn up backyard.

Earlier this week we've had frost, red noses, stiff fingers and dead flowers. The trees have turned brown and begun to aggressively shed leaves.

Our neighbor hired the tree expert to topple one of his 100 year old maples and trim the other two. He was out there today with his chain saw on a stick. That's what I call it. He can reach the highest places. We'll have morning sunlight in our backyard this year.

Yesterday I popped home during my lunch hour to discover a geyser spewing up from a broken sprinkler pipe. I found that long poky thing and turned the main valve off that is down in a small man hole in the front yard. I had no idea how to only turn off the sprinkler valve. Apparently I need some tutoring.

One problem down, next up: I couldn't get the electric garage door to go up. I had to find some fencing leftovers and push the door up manually with my spaghetti muscle arms and prop the door open. There was fear in my heart that when I pulled my car out the door would slam down. It didn't. The hubby says the thing-a-muh-bob (my words) that curves at the top has a metal stress fracture.

The next step in things falling apart was the blinds on our patio door. I tried to pull them open before I left for work to see the progress on the tree trimming. Three slats fell out and you can't reattach them to the little what-cha-may-call-it when it snaps. I've got to call the "Blind Man" to see if he can repair it. "Wearing out, it is" I will say in my best Yoda impression.

My lunch hour was delayed today and I made the mistake of eating several Milky Way candy bars. Then I bought a sandwich at a favorite deli and forgot to tell them to hold the mayo. Between the chocolate and Mayo I became very sick. I didn't think I would make it home before I started heaving. But, I did.

I've always been a strong person. In years past a few stomach hurling sessions were of no consequences. However, now that I have developed a severe case of Acid Reflux, I am unable to be be so flippant about the stomach flu. Just the gagging reflex will start esophageal spasms that are comparable to a heart attack. I'm thankful that I seem to be relatively in one piece.

The worst thing of the day, however, was finding out that I had said something in a way that could easily be taken as criticism when it was supposed to be encouraging. My words were the water but the spout was broken just like my sprinklers and I just sprayed them out in an uncontrolled direction. Words can stress a fractured spirit that is trying to lift up and escape a dreary place. I needed to prop that spirit up like my garage door. The psyche can be damaged if you yank it where it clings to the base of hope. Then Self image falls to the floor like a shapeless vertical blind. Also, never try to feed a sweet word with a silver spoon that's been in a mayo jar. There's nothing like being gagged with a tarnished spoon. Now I should do some trimming on some areas that have grown either weak or are just straining from lack of proper pruning. Sunshine would be a nice result.

In 2nd Corinthians, the Apostle Paul encourages us to forgive people who make excessive blunders. And Jesus said we should forgive seventy times seven. I hope no one is keeping count of the many times they find themselves in a position to choose to forgive me.

I always appreciate the opportunity to start fresh.