Let me explain.
There are those kind of days you should have just stayed in bed. This was not one of those days, but rather, the kind of day that, try as you might to control it, just unravels piece by piece before you…
I got what I thought was a fabulous start to the day. I had been longing for a morning, on my bedroom deck, basking in the early morning Okanagan sun & going slow enough to enjoy my devotional time. Today, I had succeeded in that very thing. I had opened up to a piece of scripture which I thought had absolutely nothing to do with my present state of affairs until I decided to stick with it. Then, as is often the case with things of faith, I realized I was gravely mistaken & took in a lot from Psalm 69. Just as I was finishing up & enjoying the gentlest of breezes, my new umbrella, which was making this deck devotional time so sweet, caught that breeze & collapsed headlong onto me & my poor unsuspecting pooch. We clambered out of our dilemma, stood the umbrella back into submission & picked up the pieces of our rude encounter. Really, I thought this to be nothing but an unfortunate mishap & not the beginnings of "something in the air," as Mary Poppins would have put it.
There was a nasty job awaiting me in the garage, so filled with the vigour of my enriched start, I set out to undertake it. A wall stacked high with cardboard boxes that needed collapsing, styrofoam removed from & dropped at the recycling depot was my plight. It was a warm job, even attired as I was, in my swim gear, thinking I would go for a dip, as my reward, after loading the truck with my efforts. Having said thought may have been my demise because as I loaded the truck, I heard a small voice from the top of the driveway seeking, "hello, hello…," followed closely by the crackpot barking of Shaquille the guard dog. Shaquille, the guard dog, who has once let you know that you are in his kingdom is then jumping at your legs in search of the affection that is rightly his, you know… I turned to find Tracy, at least that's who she presented herself as. Tracy was having car trouble so had decided to walk to her job at Green Bay Bible Camp. She was looking for the vineyard path that was going to get her down to the camp. I ensured her that I could, indeed, show her the path, but that it was, in no way, going to get her to Green Bay. That was still a fair journey further than she had suspected. Feeling quite the Samaritan, I thought I should offer her a ride in the 30+ degree summer heat. She was more than grateful for the offer & hopped in the truck with no encouragement at all. Shaq had to stay home, as our new friend seemed allowed on his property, but maybe not in his truck…I went in, told Darrell my plan, & got the suspicious look of "you have no idea who you are giving a ride to…???" These thoughts don't always occur to me. I assured him I didn't think she was an axe murderer, grabbed my purse, & we were off. I had a fleeting moment of heart-race brought on by Darrell's wariness, but pressed on, & dropped her happily at her destination. The fare was not entirely free because she left me with the knowledge of the two "m's" women must bear in life - menstration & menopause & how the latter "m" was going to have made that a long & weary walk for her. She quickly thanked me, bounded off into the camp kitchen &, I think, proceeded in her day's work…I happen to know the camp managers, so I can't wait to see if I was completely duped or if Tracy does truthfully work kitchen duty at Green Bay Bible Camp.
I "thought" I would come directly home & proceed with the cool dip in the pool I longed for, now more than ever. I was quickly going to empty the dishwasher first when, once again, Shaquille the guard dog burst forth toward the front door. Such a calamity he had not made in quite some time. I went to investigate & found friend nor foe, but this gentle four-legged fellow wanting nothing more that a drink & to be our very own, if only we would let him indoors & out of the heat.
He was a bit of a formidable looking guy, & had it not been for his tender eyes & wagging tail, I may have been less charitable. My mornings' fresh start was getting a little shaky now… what was I going to do with this wayward character wearing no collar. He seemed, though, vaguely familiar to us both. Darrell thought he had seen him before on the street above us, so hopped in the truck & went on a reconnaissance of sorts. He returned shortly sadly saying there was no one in search of our friend that he could find. I had to take a run at the effort too as I was certain my Spidy sense was leading me to a certain area up above our home. I sped off, well intentioned as ever to get this guy back to his loving home. My first stop was a house so obvious the possible home of such an escapee. The garage was open, the front door was open & only a fireplace screen blocked the possible departure of a lonely or bored canine. I knocked, I rang, I waited…I turned my back to leave when I heard a muffled hello, hello coming from under a mop of curly teenage hair & a tank top being pulled onto a near naked frame. "Oh, hello" I queried "you wouldn't happen to be missing a dog, would you? or be willing to look at a picture of a dog to see if you may recognize him." The answer came only as, "maybe…" I showed him the picture & he said, "Yup, that's our dog…" He grabbed a leash & made his way on foot down to our home & had "Brubaker" halfway back up the hill toward home as I waved coming around the corner.
Now, I shall finally take in & drop off that squeaky styrofoam from the back of my truck, do my few errands & get a Starbucks latte as my just reward. It shall come as no surprise to you that while in the drive thru, I get the keen sense that I should pay for the folks behind me. So, based on the way my day is playing out, I just go with that feeling & pay up. I shall never know if they enjoyed it, needed it, or were thankful. I am just glad to drive slowly home, sipping my beverage & reflecting on what a day it has been so far.
Now, for that swim!!
As the evening cooled, Darrell, the guard dog, Shaq, & I decided to go down & walk along the flat & beautiful path on Gellatly. We were having an ever so uneventful walk when I spotted it…the Zebra floatie...perched there so innocently on the hood of the car waiting to be packed up. I nearly accosted the poor mother with my query into where she had found this striped floating creature. That's when it happened. All in an instant, the way it is with toddling children, the mother's little boy escaped her grasp & burst out on to Gellatly. Thank God, literally!! that there were no cars coming & that the young mother had enough grace to realize that it was not entirely my fault that this near dreadful mishap had happened. She calmly scooped up the naked infant, (they had been at the beach you see) said it wasn't the first time & proceeded to tell me cheerfully that the Zebra floatie was from Walmart.
And now for the significance of the Zebra floatie & why it would even be of interest to me. We were given a very funny "Liski Pool Rules" sign from some friends as a housewarming gift & one of the rules is that the Zebra floatie is for the kids. We have, from that day forward, been in search of a Zebra floatie to seal the deal. Today, guess who was at Walmart, & despite the grim lack of encouragement from the young sales representative in the floatie department, found & purchased their very last Zebra floatie!!
I wish I had some real moral virtue to leave you with after taking the time to read this long & rambling post, but I am afraid that all I can chalk this adventure up to is availability. Sometimes, all we are is just available & willing. We put forth the effort to intercede in someone's day, never knowing if it made a stitch of difference. Only the hope remains that when you are the "Tracy, Brubaker, Starbucks girl, or Zebra floatie Mom" that someone might be there & "available" for you...
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