Archive for February, 2010
You know what they say about things we abhor in life. They continue to plague until you come to terms with whatever it is.One of the things in life that I have never come to terms with is strong raging winds. I don’t like wind, especially strong wind. It is not my friend. I have always felt that strong winds are out to get me. There are so many stories about how deep my paranoia runs, but this is just one of those examples. Maybe after you read this horror story, you will better understand my paranoia and have a little compassion in your heart for why I feel so negative about winds.
Friends of mine wanted to go for an overnight trip, but they were concerned about their two dogs. Since I had nothing better to do with my life at that time, I offered to look after their dogs for them so they could have a stress free trip.
My dad was a practical joker all his life. I remember that he delighted in scaring the wits out of our mother from time to time. It was such a thrill to see her lose her mind… at least we all thought so. One thing my dad never thought of, I’m sure, is that he had ten children who were learning from him by osmosis. Things that my dad did to my mom were just once in a while things, but factor in ten more highly imaginative beings. Sometimes we would do things to scare each other, but I have to admit, it was so much more fun to scare our mother. She had a hysterical scream unequaled to anyone on this planet. I bet she could reach octaves that could pierce eardrums half a mile away.
When two of my sisters, one of my brothers and I were all in our teens, we spent a summer up North in Quebec. We went swimming practically every day, but our most favorite thing to do was to go for long walks in the countryside. It was always with a sense of adventure and with great expectations. Every once in a while, we would head off the beaten path just to see what we would find. On one such adventure, we came across a creek that ran under a bridge that was on the road where we were walking. We had often walked over that bridge, but had never gone down to follow the stream to see where it would lead us. Behind the creek was a densely forested area that begged us to explore it one morning.
Several years ago, I lived in a condo town house. One extremely cold and windy winter’s day, with a wind chill factor of minus fifty degrees Celsius, I had a very strange experience. My husband had come home for lunch, as he did every day. It was always my habit to give him a kiss good-bye and see him to the door as he was leaving to go back to work. On that cold and windy day, as I kissed him, I heard a distress call. Something, or someone said, “Help me.”
When I was about ten years old, our family spent the summer in the country. Next door to us was a farm that had pigs and cows. It was a great summer full of fun and discovery. The farmer next door welcomed us as his two little grandsons were spending the summer with him. He thought it was good for city children to get to know farm animals. I suppose he was right in his philosophy, but in retrospect, he should have given my siblings and me a crash course on how to treat animals.
Our family had ten children. I am the second eldest. We were raised to look out for each other. The older children looked after the younger ones. It was the older ones who took the little ones to and from school every day. That way, no one would be forgotten and no one would have to do that long walk home alone. I was responsible for two of my little sisters. Sometimes, there was a breakdown in communications, especially when someone had a detention after school.
Being a child was a lot of fun when I was a kid. There were so many adventures and discoveries. Every season brought with it a new hope for awesome experiences. That is the way it was many years ago when we lived in a neighborhood that was subject to spring time flooding every year.
Several years ago, I found myself out of work due to an injury. I had so many things to do around the house. The list was as long as my arm. I had been saving things up to do when I had the time to do them. So there I was with all the time in the world, but not the physical ability to peck away at my list of chores. Dealing with the constant pain was bad enough, but I was also very angry and frustrated because I could not do any physical work. I simply has to find new ways of filling my days so I would not lose my mind.
There are things in life that if one had known in advance what the outcome would be, one might consider other options. I know that would have been the case for me. In the past, my philosophy in life has always been to accept a challenge, no questions asked. I have since radically modified my philosophy.