I ran home during lunch today. I needed pick everybody up so Amanda could go to the chiropractor, and I could take the kids with me to order some siding. So there we were trying to corral the little varmits into the car when I hear Carlos behind me. (Our next door neighbor on the West side). Carlos is really cool, but we were in a hurry and I was thinking "why on earth does he want to chit chat now??" After ratcheting Harrison into his seat, I turned to see what was up. "Hey Jerm*, if you need some help hauling that stuff off to the dump, I'm trucking some things of ours this weekend, and I could take that too..." He was gesturing toward the stack of siding laying in the 6 foot wide side yard space between the fence and our house. Oh...uh...yeah...that would be great Carlos. I'd like to rip the rest of the siding off the front of the carport if you're not going right away, and that way it could all go at once...Sunday you say?"
Man, I felt about this small (picture me making 2-inch tall measurement with fingers). I was a total grouch all the way to the chiropractor after that. I just kept imagining Carlos and his wife talking week after week, and her getting more and more frustrated about the eyesore and asking him when he's going to quit procrastinating and come say something to me about it. How humiliating. Gurf. I kept telling myself I was waiting to haul all the siding at once. But there you go. After 3 months, who's going to believe that? Amanda is worried I'm going to grind away what's left of my teeth.
Well anyway, we got the last of the lumber delivered, and the new siding gets here tomorrow. (I found the right stuff, by the way. Ha. One small victory.)
*He pronouncees it Jairm, so it's cool with me.
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
--Stephen Crane
[edit]
Yikes. Okay. I'm not THAT far gone. Maybe replace 'bitter' with 'anxious'. Yeah. That's the ticket :)
Man. I still like that little poem though.
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