She has already decided to give up chocolate, which is a major thing for her. You don't understand...the girl actually makes satisfaction noises and is not to be disturbed while eating chocolate, so this is a very big deal.
Apparently, a coworker came up, while we were talking, with a chocolate cream pie and said, "Gee, Ruthie, wouldn't you lovvvee to have some?"
"You ARE the devil, you know...hey, shut up, or the pie goes in your face."
Did I...mention that she works as an admin at a church at present? Hehehe.
Like me, she too gave up her 60+ hours per week professional job as an advertising copywriter six months ago, when grandma took a turn for the worse; ready to step in for her turn if/when Mom gets exhausted.
A pretty cool and uncharacteristically noble thing for the previously spoiled family baby to do, she's grown up nicely...mostly...
Anyway, she gets all kinds of funky calls, working at a church, so it's very fun to prank call her with strange voices and stories and see how long it takes before she figures out it's me, hehehe.
So I thought about giving up cigarettes, but that's a bit too...stressful to tackle right now when things are finally settling down. Plus I've tried quitting before and I'm a real bitch when I do, and nobody wants THAT. I thought about giving up cursing and the word "fuck", but I did that last year and obviously it didn't hold.
So then I tried justification..."Hey Ruthie...isn't like...the whole point of Jesus' death supposed to be that he made that sacrifice so we didn't have to?"
"Nice try, Chrys, but it's about relating to his suffering, dumb ass."
"I think you should've given up calling me 'dumb ass' for Lent. Try not to think about your coworker's chocolate cream pie, there, shithead. I love you anyway, sissy."
"Love you too, sis...bye."
So Wednesdays are my day off, and of course, I get a terrible cold today. One of the reasons I decided to take one full day off of everything is because I need one day off from everything to AVOID getting sick, but apparently this strategy isn't working.
So I'm struggling to get lunch in with McKenna at school, pick up dictation tapes for that new doc as my third job one day a week, go to an appointment, clean my house and do laundry, and type some transcription today before services tonight...and I'm all cranky with a 100.2 fever.
I call K, MY church secretary, to find out what time the service is.
"K, what times are services today?"
"12 p.m. and 7"
"K, 12's no good, I have lunch with McK at school. I'll be there at 7, with bells on. I have no idea what that expression means, actually, and I better not wear bells, being as it IS lent and I'm supposed to be all..reverent."
"No, bells are more of an "epiphany" thing, you can wear them then."
"Hahaha! Excellent, I'm marking that down on my calendar...'Epiphany...wear exotic bells for no apparent reason."
"I'll call you and remind you to wear them."
So then I'm driving to my appointment, hacking away with a cough, grabbing quickly through a drive-thru, then eating, a Big Mac, dropping the "special sauce" on my jacket and cursing about it, when I come down the hill, around the bend, from the south side of the city.
Ever since I was a kid, this has always astounded me...how this city just suddenly pops up from behind two hills once you round the bend, it literally catches your breath.
Today, however, was particularly awe-inspiring. The moment I rounded the bend, the sun came out, just briefly...after some pretty heavy-duty storms...and a very thick, very large rainbow rounded over the entire city, right over Carew Tower....it was absolutely breathtaking.
I looked at the people in the cars to the left and the right...and we all were smiling at each other and pointing, kind of a "bonding with strangers" moment..."Can you see that? It's beautiful!!!"
I remembered my learned gift over the past few years of finding the slightest bit of joy out of the simplest things in life, which I learned at a time when there was virtually nothing left of my previous life and things in the city in which I lived were literally in tatters. I learned that immediately after Hurricane Ivan, in fact. The slightest thing can make me full of joy, the tiniest kindness from a stranger...you learn to appreciate the small stuff and take time out to admire it. :)
So, methinks...
"Ooops....okay, God, okay....sorry about me getting all wrapped up in my own...crap today. That was a pretty amazing sight, master scientist, thank you...for allowing us all to see that today."
So guess what I'm giving up? Cursing, junk food...AND I'm cutting down on smoking...we'll see if it holds.;)
I didn't have a camera with me, but here's a good stand-in photo for the same effect...actually, I'd have to say the effect of coming around that bend and the rainbow over the entire city was actually better, but the cathedral in another city photo is a cool additive.
Time appropriately taken out, rainbow admired...back to the schedule now, shhh...;)
