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I wasted this whole day.
When you grow up in the soggy Pacific Northwest you learn to never, ever waste a sunny day. When the sun comes out and the skies are blue, you find a reason to get outside and to soak up the sunshine. What if the sun doesn’t emerge again for a month? That is what you think when you live there.
I doubt that impulse will disappear even though pretty much every day here in San Diego County, the sun smiles and if you miss it, you can assume that tomorrow will be Groundhog Day. Another chance to get it right.
Still.
I feel like I wasted the day by staying inside reading most of the afternoon. I didn’t see the sky as the sun set. I missed everything.
I slept late and then took the dog for a sweaty walk. Then, while I was still sweaty, I took the dog and my daughter to the pet store so we could wash the dog.
The dog does not appreciate being washed. These days, she will walk right up into the tub, but once secured, she is not happy. She sits down firmly, trying to avoid the spray. I scrub her, then rinse and rinse and rinse and eventually, she tries to jump out and then she howls and then she sits again so I can’t rinse her tail and then she shakes so that I am covered in dog-shampoo scented water droplets. My plastic apron always falls off and fuzzy dog fur tickles my nose.
I brushed her before we left with my patented Smear Peanut Butter on the Side of the Refrigerator technique, so after the bath, I did my best to blot her dry with a towel and then we hurried out of the pet store.
I dropped my daughter off at a friend’s house–she’d asked if she could go once she realized I had nothing exciting planned for the day–and when I got home, I showered and then took a nap. A NAP. It was only 2:30 PM which is ridiculous unless you are eighty-five years old but I was tired. And I will be eighty-five in . . . well, thirty-seven years which is just the blink of an eye. I’m tired just thinking about that.
When my husband returned home at 3:30 PM I pretended to be wide awake. Then I read for the rest of the day, breaking only to cook and eat dinner.
So, I missed everything outdoors. I did not hike to the top of a mountain like someone posted on Facebook. I did not go bowling like someone posted on Facebook. I did not explore tide pools like someone posted on Facebook. I did not go to my high school reunion (thirty years!) like someone posted on Facebook. I did not take my kids anywhere, see anything exciting, enjoy the weather, explore my surroundings or make today count.
But my dog smells great.
