Happy Anniversary to ViCARIously Speaking!

When I received the notification that my domain was automatically renewed, I figured that I must write a celebratory post. It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing “this” for over five years now. And yes, I use the word “this” loosely. The past couple of years my efforts have amounted to no more than the occasional <flopped> post and snarky memes on my @vicariouslyspeaking FaceBook page. Oh, I haven’t completely fallen off the writing wagon. I have participated in several contests/challenges, slowly added to a book that I one day hope to publish, and journaled on occasion. But boy, oh boy, I’ve been a top-notch lazy blogger.

What do I say? Life gets in the way.

What now? Well…. I don’t know. What I know for sure is that I won’t be spouting empty promises that “I’m back”. I am not even sure if this wild Sunday hair means that I will be writing more or if this post is simply a fluke. I really don’t know anything for sure at this point. You and I will be along for the same ride, wherever that may lead us. So, here we go…

Last week was bumpy. We celebrated two of our children’s birthdays, AND the first day of school, AND torrential downpours that flooded the yard, on top of my never-ending, high tempo, 11-hour work days. AND unexpected vehicle repairs. Notice, that is plural – “repairs”. AND the efforts expended trying to limp along a dishwasher and tankless hot water heater that are on the verge of breaking down, but not quite there yet.

(Pretty sad, but I can totally relate to the dishwasher and water heater right about now.)

Oh… and there’s this little thing called “COVID” going around that makes all said items just a little more inconvenient and uncertain.

But, we made it. & for my family, Sunday marks the beginning of a new week. Time to hit reset, prep lunches and school bags, tackle the pile of laundry, and get ready to take on the week head on.

Before I go, I leave you with a little “tail” to hopefully make you smile…

One day, Hercules and Xena jumped up from the couch, ran downstairs, and began loudly yipping at the back door of our walk-out home. This was very unlike their normal behavior. Most of the time, the lazy pups can’t even pull themselves from the couch before they begin howling at the delivery drivers. For them to actually move before the barking commenced? Something must have been up. I glanced out the window and saw something grey and furry huddled against our back door.

Awww!! A whittle bitty kitty!!

I followed the dogs downstairs and flung open the door, fully intending to scoop the little cat up. But it wasn’t a cat. There, staring me dead in the eyes was… an opossum.

She opened her mouth, showing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. I think she was trying to hiss at me; I couldn’t tell over the loud yipping of the dogs. Or maybe it was my yelping that I heard?

I tried to retreat, but before I could make it into the safety of my home, Hercules and Xena muscled through the door, all 32-combined pounds of them. Attempting to protect their owner, or excited at the prospect of a plaything after months of solitude, they circled the opossum, yipping and jumping and corralling her toward the deck stairs.

Now, don’t let my pups’ names fool you. Xena, weighing in at a hefty 12 pounds and 4 ounces, is no Warrior Princess, although I think she tries to live up to her namesake with ferocious snarling and a fearless facade. Hercules, on the other hand, is more bumbling teenage boy than demigod. He follows his big sister’s lead always. But this was two against one… or so we thought.

The scene was set: the opossum waddled and hissed and was backed up the deck stairs while the dogs barked and circled and nudged with their noses while I yelled and waved my arms and tried to diffuse the situation…

It happened in an instant. If you blinked, you might have missed the whole exchange. Out of nowhere, Jesse the Cat pounced into action with an impressive flying kick that would have made Bruce Lee nod his head in approval. Balancing on his hind feet, he landed a left-right-left first on an unsuspecting Hercules, then another on Xena. Jesse hissed and snarled and positioned himself in front of the opossum.

Hercules and Xena retreated slightly, but Jesse was not done. Setting his sights on his least favorite family member, Jesse chased Hercules around the yard, getting in licks every chance he could. Xena, eyes wide at the ass-whooping that Hercules was receiving, turned tail and headed back to the door. The opossum waddled to safety under the deck. Hercules yelped and zig-zagged away from Jesse and took off toward the front of the house. Satisfied that his point had been made, Jesse glared and sauntered off to join the opossum under the deck.

Our take? Jesse the Cat has found himself a girlfriend.

😊 Cari