Summer or Winter?

It's almost surreal to watch the rain we got so long ago move down the Mississippi River and cause so many problems for the people living along the way. I guess I never paid much attention before, but I always wondered how long it took runoff water that rained here to get to the Gulf of Mexico. It's amazing to think that trip takes 2-4 weeks. It's also surprising to think that we came really close to tying high temperature records last week (the highs were near 90°F) and now we've got the furnace back on because the temps are getting close to record lows for this time of year. It sure isn’t normal to need a jacket at a baseball game in mid-May.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Mom's birthday was Thursday, but we actually celebrated on Friday when we went out to eat at Cracker Barrel. Mom usually gets dessert, even if she's the only one doing so when we're out, but this time she didn't. She knew she had something better at home. The kids had picked strawberries and Vicki had the fixings for strawberry shortcake. Mom ate two big pieces and had the look of heaven on her face.

(To include a footnote about myself, I've eaten several strawberries this season just to try to expand my horizons being the picky eater that I am. I did not inherit my mother's love for them. I'm giving that idea up now.)

BLESSED. Vicki sang at church today. (Kelly Raglin sang backup.) If you are familiar with “Blessings” by Laura Story then you know the song. She (and Kelly) did a great job. It was hard for me not to turn around to the people sitting behind me and say, "That's my wife!"

READY FOR SUMMER. We still have two weeks of school left (actually, the seniors are done as of this week). Everywhere I look I see teachers with glazed expressions on their faces as if they're asking, "Is it over yet?"

I could see that same feeling at Awana Wednesday night. Our Awana club is over for the year, with exception of the awards night next week, and as much as everyone enjoys it I think they are all ready for a change of pace. I know I'm ready to have a break from the routine. School starts back up August 4 and it will be here all too quickly.

RAIN GAUGE. Speaking of rain, I have to tell this on myself. Ever since I got one of those electronic thermometers that give you the digital read outs of the temperature inside and out I've wanted to get an electronic rain gauge. I even hinted about it several times last year, but since that was all for nothing I went to the store and got one for myself.

At first I mounted it on top of the swing set. I figured this would be a good place for it since it would be too high for the kids to mess with it. I don't think the battery compartment got a watertight seal because it never worked there. I fiddled with it for several weeks -- enough for Vicki to tell me to stop wasting my time and throw it away.

Before throwing it away I put up a short post near the kitchen window and mounted the gauge to the top of the post. I also made sure the battery cover was on tightly. Well, it started working at this point, but we were never sure if it was accurate. That's when I suggested we get a regular rain gauge to test its accuracy. Somehow I think she missed the humor in this proposal. Now she just rolls her eyes when she hears a rain gauge reading. Of course, this is the woman who didn’t see why I thought it was interesting to get the daily weather report from the Phoenix Lander on Mars either. (These stopped when the lander died last year.)

SNAKE BITE DISEASE. While I’m telling things on myself I’ll share this. I have a condition I call Snake Bite Disease. A friend of mine calls it “man looking.” This showed up the other day when I emptied a bottle of saline and couldn’t find the new right in front of me in the bathroom closet. As they say, if it had been a snake it would have bitten me.

This reminded me of a close call I had a week or so ago. I stopped by Aunt Mar’s when Marisol happened to be there cleaning. She wanted me to go down to the shed to see something (she had been down there to get the patio furniture out). I couldn’t truly understand what she was wanting me to see due to her accent, but she truly saved me from getting bitten by the snake by stopping me from walking into the shed. The shed was on a shelf right there at eye level and I had completely missed it.

THE REST OF US. Our kids have chores. Some chores, like making up their own bed, are theirs all the time. Others, like sweeping the floors, are up for grabs each week to allow for a change of pace. This week was Ben's week to load the dishwasher.

The other day Ben was hand washing some dishes that aren't supposed to go in the dishwasher when he absentmindedly put his towel in the sink to use it as the wash cloth. He was a bit embarrassed when he realized his mistake, but Vicki was quick to say, "That's alright. It happens to the best of us."

Ben was unknowingly cutting with his comeback. "Does it happen to you, too?"

Joe