Looking Up

The light was pretty this morning.

I stared out my patio doors while still curled under the covers, cuddling into pillows while turning to look at the time. I've not been sleeping well - somehow ridiculously jet lagged from a two hour time zone shift during a recent trip - so I took a few moments to decide whether I was finished resting or not.

I remained awake a few moments later, so I tossed the covers aside, patted Chienne when she sighed at me for disturbing her, and came downstairs. I fetched coffee and played online before grabbing shoes and sweatshirt and leaving for our walk.

Chienne had escaped yesterday while I was mowing the lawn, and - already frustrated the I paid the kid next door and he hadn't taken care of the grass for weeks - I decided to shrug it off and let her run around. She checked in at random intervals but frolicked around the neighbors yards and sprinted up and down the sidewalks. I normally enforce a strict "that's not yours!" rule about playing on people's property but decided to screw it. In return, she was remarkably good as she trotted on the sidewalk, waiting patiently while I took photos and humoring me when I told her how pretty the leaves were.

I came home to shower and dress for an appointment. I arrived promptly, reclined on the padded table and slid dark glasses over my eyes.

"Ready," I confirmed, wincing in anticipation before the laser zapped the hair above my lip. For the most part, the facial hair procedure is mildly uncomfortable. The follicles above my upper lip? They react by screaming "son of a bitch!" with each of the four zaps.

"OK?" the technician (first non-perky one I've met, honestly) asked before positioning the applicator right under my nose for the last time. I braced myself and still jerked in response, whimpering a pitiful "ow..." and wiping a tear from my eye. I blinked at her as she took my glasses and gave me an ice pack to put on my poor face. But I dutifully made my appointment for next time, merely laughing when she asked if I might want to do my underarms or bikini area.

I stopped at Target to buy presents for the girls. They're coming to visit in 2 weeks and I'm going to set up an elaborate scavenger hunt with games and clues to find Snow White dolls, Play-Doh, tiny flowers, coloring books, stickers, candy and Webkinz. Gathering pet food and groceries, I paid and loaded items into my Jeep before coming home to neatly place items in their proper places.

It's an odd shift - a set of random events that align and I suddenly feel better.

"Help Yourself to Happiness," MedicoreBuffetRestaurantSign invited as I drove toward my house.

"Thank you, MediocreBuffetRestaurantSign," I replied. "I believe I will."