Incessant Need

I'm sick. Cold, bronchitis, the works. This is day four. I'm feeling better than the weekend, but not good necessarily. I just worked 12 hours and spent 40 minutes on the phone walking my mother through an online transaction. One of my cats is meowing incessantly at me. I know all I have to do is go upstairs and see what it wants. It will walk right to either food, water or window. Easy fix. But I am downstairs, and tired and annoyed. One of my dogs whined and barked at me while I was on the phone with my mother, incessantly, so that I had to hang up with her to deal with her need. So I called NICJ to take her out. He did, I called mom back, fine. NICJ brought the dog back in and she bumps me, and whines and runs for the door and jumps on me - leaving mud streaks down my pants. I pet her, not enough. I pet her some more, not enough. She jumps on me again. Now I am SO irritated that I am cussing. (The neverending meower has come downstairs now to get my attention. I have just let him out the front door. Quiet at last.) Back to the dog - so NICJ can hear me cussing all the way outside. He comes in and takes her back outside. I am now tense, mud-smeared and annoyed. And I know that the very thing that irritated me tonight is the thing that endears me to my pets on most days - the neverending love and devotion, the need for my affection, the communicative ability of my pets - all this makes me smile and laugh and enjoy them. Tonight, I could smother them and feel only relief. I know it's the claustrophobia from my cold and the asthma...but I am glad they are now out, leaving me blissfully alone within.

There are just some days when as much as I love my pets, I can so see the appeal of being a petless person. No dirt, no pet hair, no whining, no love and affection and neverending devotion. Yeah, I'll never be a petless person. But a little distance is okay too.

Harvest Moon

I can't believe it's November already. October, (my favorite month of the year), just disappeared. The small consolation is that the weather is very October-like right now. Crisp, but not too cold. Big, full, harvest moon. The smell of bonfire in the air. Piles of raked leaves. I can't describe how the smell of the world righ now makes me feel. Content? Comfy? I sat on the front porch this morning - something I don't do very often - and started a new book. I should have read it a couple of months ago for book club, but did not have time. Today, however, I am home sick. Sick as a dog acutally - stuffed up head, runny nose, hacking cough, sneezy and groggy. My goal is to barrel through it today, so I can function the rest of the week at work. I was so tired last week - I wonder if that was the precursor to this. But, I guess it is better for it to happen now than closer to the holidays when I really have no time whatsoever to be sick or recover. Timing as they say is everything. Bears aren't looking too good today. Might let Miami take it from them. We'll see - they've gotten good at pulling it off in the last quarter. I think I'll go curl up in that comfy green chair under the blankets with a cup of tea, my book and Bears football. Not a bad way to be sick, I suppose.

A Glorious Site!

My good friend Nels gave me this pic. Wasn't that thoughtful of him - especially since he's crying in his Cubs beer right about now.

Go CARDS!