Suffering Won’t Make You a Saint

Oh, Saturday. Never what I want. I slept in because the weather was perfect for it—gloomy and quiet. When I finally woke up, I made the family some hot dogs. Delicious, with a side of slaw and deviled eggs.

I thought about mowing but decided against it. I needed to do more trimming and leaf work out back. I’ll be damned if I wasn’t working away when I heard a clap of thunder. I said aloud, “Fuck.”

Looking at the radar, I didn’t have much time. This unexpected early storm had me at a disadvantage. I rushed to get my leaves bagged, but the rain began to fall. I wasn’t going to let that deter me. I got soaked, but I got the job done.

After a good cleanup, I went out to find the most recent sheep in town. It was a nice, relaxing drive.

Yvette and I had a movie and dinner date—a little romance. You, Me & Tuscany. The movie was basically the ’90s film While You Were Sleeping, which I liked back in the day. I couldn’t disagree with a rehash of that.

After the movie, the weather once again looked ominous. Was it going to fucking rain again? The evening wasn’t over, so we rolled on.

We went to The Wharf, a favorite we hadn’t been to in almost two years due to some bullshit they pulled. I must say, the food was great, as always. The place hadn’t changed.

The weather did turn. It rained like cats and dogs. That night, we got about two and a half inches of rain. It was crazy. We put on a movie and just enjoyed our rainy date night.

The weekend flew by. Sunday, I did some minor yard work—mainly trimming the front hedges. This is something I have to do at least once a year. It just has to be done, or they look like shit. It’s no easy task either. It requires getting on a ladder and using hedge trimmers—a fairly scary tool. I’ve seen what they can do to someone who’s careless. Ouch. At least it’s only an annual task.

The rest of the day I spent just running around town. Found another sheep I wasn’t expecting. At a biker bar, of all places. Dangerous place, I’ve heard. Weird place for a sheep.

On Monday, I decided I needed a mental health day. I stayed home and slept in until about 10:30. I tried to register for a class, but it was full. I’ll wait till I’m back at work. Oh well.

I watched some short films and made a nice little batch of chorizo and potatoes. I just chilled that morning, had my coffee on the porch with the dogs. It was relaxing.

Eventually, I left the house and went to Hobby Lobby. Yvette said they had an Easter sale—75% off. When I arrived, it was 90% off. They were basically giving the shit away. She had her eye on some bunnies in pots and a table runner. Alas, the bunnies were already gone, but I snagged the table runner. I also found some cute little bunnies I had no reason not to buy at that price.

All in all, I walked out of the store with about forty dollars’ worth of stuff for just over four bucks. Win.

After that adventure, I went on the search for another sheep. This one was a little troublesome—it was inside a business that’s only open during regular hours and closed on weekends. I’d been having trouble accessing it, but since I was off work, I had my chance. I’m sure I looked like a real weirdo walking into a business just to take a picture of a fucking sheep decorating their atrium, but I didn’t care. One more off the list.

Overall, between Saturday and Monday, I captured three new sheep. It’s crazy—I’ve been doing this for over a year now and have a total of one hundred fifteen. I’m running out of sheep.

After my successful sheep hunt, I decided to bring Yvette some lunch. She had a hair appointment, so she couldn’t leave the office. I picked her up a really good-looking chicken salad sandwich and brought it to her. We visited for a bit before another employee came in and talked both our ears off. At least I could escape—which I did. Poor Yvette had to sit there and listen to all the drama.

I ran more errands, and when I finally got home, I decided to take Hazel for a walk—away from campus this time. We went to the Arroyo Trails. It was a nice afternoon, with a cool breeze and distant thunderstorms shading us from the sun. It’s a place we used to walk all the time when she was a puppy. It was a real treat going down memory lane with her.

That night, Noah, Nadia, and baby Nile came over for dinner. I made hibachi. I had everything prepped, so it came together quickly. It was a lot of fun and the perfect way to cap off a great Monday away from work. I need more mental health days in my life.

Tuesday rolled around, and I had some catching up to do—but I had other priorities: registering for fall classes. I jumped right in. I emailed the professor and explained my situation as an employee, asking if she might open a spot for me. I also spoke with my friend Jody, who assured me it wouldn’t be a problem.

I went about my day catching up. It was a beautiful day on campus, and I enjoyed chatting with people. I was glad the guys didn’t touch much of my workload—it gave me the freedom to get the hell out of the office.

Wednesday arrived, and the first thing I did was check my email. Score—she said it wouldn’t be a problem to fit me into the class. I was beyond excited. I had just registered for my first class since 2010.

Next step: starting the paperwork again for the employee tuition exemption. Unfortunately, it got bounced back—again. This time, it was “too soon.” I needed to wait until closer to the semester. I thought that was some real BS, so I contacted HR and got more of the same. I swear, that’s all they’re good for.

That evening, Teegan had his Up and Coming Scholars ceremony. It was a big deal for him. Unfortunately for us, it was a two-hour event—they called every single student. My God, there were a lot of them. If anything, it was a preview of what I’ll get in a couple of months with graduation. I need to prepare myself somehow.

I was very proud of Teegan. I love that boy, and I’m going to miss him so damn much when he leaves for college.

Thursday was the day of the vampires—I had lab work. I was in and out, but they were definitely hungry for my blood.

After that, I started working on my scholarship applications. If I can get a little money to cover tuition, I’ll take it. What does it hurt to try? Honestly, it was kind of fun. I had some essays to write, and not having written one in over fifteen years was exciting. It’s a different style of writing—far different from this blog, which has occupied me for the past eight years.

Friday was a quiet day at work, so I enjoyed it. I had a doctor’s appointment, so I left early. The dreaded biannual visit. Yikes.

I actually arrived early—I’m usually a little late. To my surprise, he had other patients, so I had to wait. Very unusual. Oh well. It was the only thing I had left to do that day.

The visit went well. Results: good. Lots of jokes and laughter. I do enjoy my PCP, and when he eventually retires, I’ll have a problem. He’s known my medical history for 16 years—that’s over a quarter of my lifetime.

Afterward, I went to see Yvette, but she was busy. Then I stopped by to see my friend Art and had a drink—he was jolly. Next, I ran to HEB; it was busy as well. I visited my mom while she was getting ready, then finally headed home.

It was good to be home with my family. I cooked, and we were merry.

Happy Friday!!!