Unseasonably Warm

Back in the fall it seemed like everyone was predicting a hard and snowy winter for us. So far it has not turned out to be. Oh, we’ve had some cold weather--I reported as much a few weeks ago--but for the most part we have stayed pretty warm. Yesterday was a beautiful 62° here! Warm as we’ve been this has been as much of an exception to the rule and the single digit temps we had earlier. The adult in me that pays the utility bill is loving this, but the kid in me is really disappointed.

UPWARD BALL. Now that Ben’s season is over we are down to ball games on Saturday afternoons now. Nate’s team has dominated with it’s 5-0 record. What has been unfortunate for this type of league is that all but one of the games have been complete blowouts. The team we played last weekend did give us a run for our money, and had they simply played a keep away strategy the last minute of the game they would have won. Nate does not have a lot of points to his credit--there are several players on his team who are older and taller than he is--but he’s right in there scrambling for the ball with the rest of them.

PACKING. Jenna leaves for Haiti on Friday. She will be gone a week. The goals of this trip are to do two medical clinics and take on a couple of construction projects. I think the same nurses that went along with Jenna back in May are returning along with a doctor. She has been counting the days. She’s also been trying to get her homework done ahead of time which has really made her burn the midnight oil.

SPEAKING OF PREPARATIONS. Vicki and Jenna spent most of the day yesterday shopping. Their main goal was to buy some last minute things needed for Haiti, but they also started shopping for a prom dress. That’s right, the Junior Senior Prom is a little over two months away so it’s high time to start looking for a dress. For me it’s another reminder that the days of having my little girl living under my roof are getting fewer and fewer.

Funny, I don’t feel any older than I did ten years ago when Jenna was in first grade, but she sure has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Of course, with her brother now knocking on 6’2” and trying to push me around like a young bull feeling his oats I’m reminded most every day that these kids are growing up.

WE’VE STOLEN A CAT. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that our neighbor’s cat has adopted us. (These are the neighbors who live in Pauline’s old house.) Actually, I think the cat has adopted several houses around here because Jimmie and Susanne Pitt said they see the cat regularly at their house too.

This cat, which our neighbors call Meow-Meow, is a long haired calico and very friendly. We had been catching glimpses of it through the window for months, but it wasn’t until Christmas break that I happened to be outside when I saw her. She was on the far side of the strawberries when I came out and she came running as soon as I squatted on the porch and called to her. Obviously a tame cat.

Some six weeks later Meow-Meow is well known to all of us. We see her early in the morning and in the afternoon when we return home. She knows when it’s feeding time. I chuckle now to think that we asked our neighbors to feed our new cat while we were gone to visit the Jones family in Georgia when as it turns out we were actually asking them to walk over here to feed their cat at our house.

I really think Meow-Meow a dog in a cat’s body. She rolls around like a dog, enjoys a belly rub like a dog, and even plays like a dog. I understand she is a good mouser, but with at least two families feeding her she may drop her hunting habits and just make sure she’s around for mealtime.

Joe