A Goofing-Off Day
My friends all tease me about being unable to relax. This week is supposed to be my vacation, and I’m doing errands, laundry, house-cleaning, yard work — all those things that I never have time to do in the usual work week.
But today was a (mostly) goofing off day. For starters, I didn’t even wake up until after 08:00, and I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed if the phone hadn’t rung. I thought it might be my friend Vicki, needing a pep talk before a big job interview. But it wasn’t. I don’t have a clue who it was. It was some Sprint text-to-landline service, with a message that was, if I remember right, “Leaving for India when?” I sent back a voice-message that they had the wrong number, and went back to bed. And read. Treasure Island. Haven’t read that in years. I’ve also read The Phantom of the Opera and Around the World in 80 Days so far this week. (I have several others on my list, as well as two books I’m reading for review purposes and one that I am editing for a friend.)
Finally got up and going around, I dunno, 10:00. Messed around online while eating breakfast with the kids. Cleaned the kitchen and rebooted the laundry. Then we got stuff together for the trip to the zoo. Left for the zoo at noon, got home at 15:30. It was hot.
The best part of the zoo trip … well, actually, there were two. The first was that I got there with almost no cash, so when the boys asked for a snow-cone, I had only the $3 refund from my parking fee to use. Snow cones were $3 each. So they decided we could all share one. And when they realized I couldn’t have the sugary syrup, they decided to just get a plain ice one “so Mom won’t be left out.” So sweet.
The second thing was the birds and bees exhibit. I used the last few coins in my purse to buy us some feed for the birds. (And I’m here to tell you that the zoo is charging RIDICULOUS amounts for those feed sticks! I can buy spray millet at the feed store at $1 per 6″ to 12″ stem, and I don’t get a bulk discount — so for the zoo to be charging $1 for a 1″ sprig of the stuff is highway robbery!) The boys were enthralled, and I was thrilled to find that I remembered how to get a parakeet to step off its perch onto your finger. We were the envy of all the kids in the exhibit, because the birds we were feeding were actually sitting on our fingers, not on our feed sticks.
We also saw the baby penguin, and the giraffe calves, and the pregnant elephant. I’m glad I didn’t have to carry my offspring around for 22 months. Yikes!
Now we are home and they started fighting, so I sent them to their rooms for a few minutes. As soon as I finish here, we’re going to my brother’s house to swim. And when we get home, I imagine it will be late and I will be zonked.
So there, y’all! I actually had a day of goofing off! I’ll make up for it tomorrow. 😛