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Today was strange. Odd. You know? Not freakout weird, but things were just slightly curious. Everything was off a little, I guess.

I met somebody who might be a new neighbor today. She was waiting for the manager to arrive, to show her the place. While I was talking to her, the manager pulled into the parking lot..”Oh, there’s Jeannie…” I was saying, and BOOM! She drove her big, gold SUV directly into the telephone pole. While we watched. I think I said, “Oh shit!” She didn’t move right away. Just sat there.

The other lady and I ran over to see if she was okay. She’d hit her head on the windshield, but nothing was cut or broken. She was only slightly rattled…she recovered and did her business with the other lady…she wasn’t hurt, so it was okay.

Later, I visited with a friend on the phone, and enjoyed a good visit. Friends rule.

Also this afternoon, my parents called. They’re in town and wanted to see about stopping by. (For a funeral, for that matter. Old friend of my brother’s.) So I visited them about an hour or so…And itt was a nice visit. Some are better than others, and this was a nice one. And it occured to me, while we were visiting: I think they appreciate my sanity. Sometimes you think about it more than others, but I do think they appreciate it.

Does that sound weird? I dunno.

When my folks had been planning to come to town a week or so ago and they didn’t end up doing it, later my mom called me to make sure my feelings weren’t hurt.

“Well, no Mom. I didn’t think twice about it. I know you love me. If you’re in town and you don’t stop by, I just figure, you guys are busy. You have a life! You’re doing things and seeing your friends and whatever. I’m glad. I’m glad you have a life. And I’m also glad to see you whenever it works out.”

“Well, that’s not how your brothers are.”

“Yeah, well, I like to think it’s me. I’m saner than they are.”

“Not just because they’re boys?”

“Nope. Because I’ve got more sense! That’s pretty clear. I’ve got more sense.”

“Because you’re a girl?”

“No. Just because I have more sense!”

She didn’t disagree…Ha! But listening to them talk about things today, I just thought about this, and about how I appreciate sanity in my own life. (Don’t take it for granted, man! It ain’t a fuckin’ given.) Parents delight when their children act sanely. It’s true, true, true. 

But anyway…it was a good visit. They looked good, and seemed happy, and healthy. Mom’s lost 30 pounds at Weight Watchers (Go, Mom!), and Dad just got his sinuses fixed, so he’s in good spirits and can breathe easier, literally. They like their new place…

Mom’s showing me a picture of a porch overlooking a wooded area. “It’s the most peaceful place on earth, Dixie. We sit out there and drink coffee in the morning and evening. You can hear the birds and the crickets and things. It’s just the most peaceful place on earth…” That made me very happy to hear. And the place is in good shape, so they don’t have to work hard on it. They’re planting their gardens and putting up their wallpaper borders. (EVERY room in every house they live in has to have a wallpaper border. I don’t know why. They have an unnatural love of wallpaper borders.) So they can piddle around, but they don’t have to do anything strenuous. They’re getting older, and I’m glad to see them taking good care of themselves. They have stuff to do, but not too much. I’m pleased with how they’re doing, and all in all, I enjoyed the visit.

After they left, me and Stinker went out to grab MickeyD’s…some of the neighbors were out inspecting the pole, so I stopped and told them what happened. I actually engaged in some frivolous neighborhood gossip! Can you believe it? Neanderthal man wasn’t there, or I probably wouldn’t have stopped. It was RedTruck Guy, whom I like because he’s nice to me and his kids are polite, and Donut Girl, who is also nice but kinda goofy. (Some other day I’ll tell you the story of Donut Girl and the Nazi Cat…) RedTruck Guy was surprised to hear the pole was hit head on and not even from backing up or anything…he seemed slightly incredulous. Anyway, I gave them the lowdown. Crazy Cat Lady had the scoop! I felt almost cool there for a minute…ha! I have no idea how they even knew about the pole incident, since neither of them were out there at the time, but evidently that was the biggest happening in the area today. This is small town life, I guess. :smile:

On the way back into the parking lot after the Mikey D’s trip, RedTruck Guy called out, “Hey! Watch out for that pole…” It was funny.

I realized I’d only had one cup of coffee today. One! That never happens, either. I just didn’t get to it. So I had some more coffee outside, and there were no traffic incidents and the air was cool and the flowers were pretty…Then, my honey came home from having to work late and I fed him. All is happy in my world today.