Weird days lately

Brad and I have been getting up to walk sometimes. Now that we've turned the clocks back we actually have daylight at 6:30 a.m. and we enjoy that half hour together, touring the neighborhood and saying hello to the poor kids waiting for the schoolbus. On Monday we had the least relaxing walk I think we've ever had. We got about three houses down and a little dog ran out to jump on us and greet us. We looked at the guy in front of the house and he just shrugged his shoulders. That little dumb dog followed us for nearly our whole walk! The stupid thing kept running into traffic, making drivers slow down and glare at us. He peed on nearly every mailbox post and ran up to other dogs as if they were his friends. The big German shepherd was most certainly not his friend. We were so stressed that this stupid thing was going to get eaten or run over that we didn't really enjoy the time.

Then later, I stopped by the bagel shop I like to frequent. I've been in there half a dozen times, maybe every three or four weeks, for a sesame seed bagel with butter and a strawberry-orange juice. Delish. Well, the guy behind the counter has been getting more and more friendly. Three times ago he recognized me and said, "Hello! Haven't seen you in a while! What can I get for you?" How kind, I thought. Someone in this town knows me. Then two times ago he said, "Hello, beautiful! What can I get for you?" I blushed, I'm sure, not expecting this strong of a welcome, and ordered my bagel. Well, this time, on Monday, he said, "Hello, sexy! What can I get for you?" HA! I burst out laughing! After the stressful involuntary dog-walking just prior I was off my game and didn't expect that! Then he said the total was "Eight dollars because the person buying is very special. I hope her husband says she's special." I told him he'd better not say those things to me or my husband was going to get mad. And then I laughed and left. I called Brad to give him a laugh... but he didn't laugh. He just said, "I want to kick that guy's ass." What a morning!

Then yesterday I woke up and my big toe was bothering me. It bothered me a few months ago-- felt like an ingrown nail, then broke open (eww, sorry), and then healed again. Then the other foot did it. Then the right foot did it again. This time I noticed the nail looked funny under the polish. I took off all my nail polish and notice that there was bleeding under the nail. Terrific. Brad has been telling me that I need to take care of this and I keep putting it off. So I decided to go to urgent care and get it operated on. Except that I got Dr. Flakyflake who reminded me a lot of Chevy Chase's wife in those vacation movies. She took a look at it, said I should soak it and maybe see a podiatrist, and left. All that amazing advice for a $50 copay. I called one of the podiatrists she recommended and I'll get it taken care of after the trip. "Will it explode on me in Africa?" I asked. "No, the blood isn't anything to worry about. It will probably fester a bit and will be ready to see a podiatrist when you get back," she answered.

Have I mentioned how much I don't like Florida? Qualified people are really hard to find.

This week is a four day work week for us as we're leaving on Friday for Africa. We fly out of Miami and will meet up with the family in London before going on to Nairobi. Although I'm sure this will be an amazing trip, I'm really not looking forward to the flying. I have a prescription for valium and I'll also be taking Dramamine-- and maybe Claritin if my allergies don't behave. The combo of the three will probably keep me pretty out of it. I hope. We'll be back on the 26th, the day before Brad's 35th birthday. We plan to spend the 27th asleep.

So back to that "I don't like Florida" thing. You already knew that, I'm sure. I don't speak too highly of my townfolk or statefolk for that matter. So Brad and I are pursuing a move to Columbus, Ohio. It's in the early stages of development and in order for it to happen God will have to perform miracles. But I've seen him do it before, so I don't doubt it can happen. We've been asking him to make a way for us to get out of here, and we're seeing some evidence of him making our paths straight. I'll fill you in as things get more sure. For now, we're spending our free moments organizing, cleaning out, touching up paint, etc. I've started another blog for the house and we plan to take pictures and then post the house on Craigslist in early December. The first step in moving is to sell our house-- once that happens we'll look for jobs, etc. If I could make the plans I'd like to leave in early April. Mom has a flight down here for a week in March and I want to spend that time with her. Plus, after enduring a hot summer I feel I've earned one more warm winter.

So that's where things stand, friends. We feel quite swirly but also feel emotionally stable despite the imminent changes. Pray for us if you think of it-- for God to have his way in our lives.

And have a happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, gobble!