It’s Springtime in Kansas – at last!
I’ve been absent for a while and I’ve missed you – my faithful readers. I’ve missed writing. Sharing life. Staying in touch. I’ve had many fleeting thoughts tempting me to craft them into a blog post, but it just hasn’t happened.
While taking a hiatus, I finished my fourth book (tentatively titled The Brain Train). It’s a sweet story about a bouncing-off-the-wall, easily-distracted little guy named Alex. He struggles both at school and at home, but just wants to succeed. What’s the answer? Read it (to be published this summer) and find hope for a little one in your life.
My absence on social media is also evidence of where I’m at personally. I’ve been nursing some wounds (having a pity party) but TODAY, my eventful morning sent me straight to my dust-covered keyboard. Let me explain…
I began my day outdoors, determined to do some gardening. In Kansas, with temps which soar one day and plummet the next, I had put off cleaning out my flower beds. Fall leaves – now nasty and packed down by snowfall – have protected hundreds of spring bulbs, but with green peeking through, I knew it was time to clear the debris. I love springtime!
Not wanting to damage the tender shoots reaching toward the sunlight, I set aside my rake and used my fingers to gently clean between the delicate flowers.
That’s when I saw it – a plump earthworm, resting peacefully under the covering of leaves. “Awww…wake up little buddy. Go deeper. I don’t want to crush you.”
(Please pay NO attention to the fact that I’m now talking – in my mind – to earthworms. Social distancing is taking a toll.)
I continued to grab handfuls of wet leaves, trying not to disturb my sleepy little friend. Curled up and lifeless (it was chilly), I didn’t immediately notice my garden guest had a pointed tail and the undeniable head of a teeny, tiny snake. OMGoodness. This was no earthworm.
I decided to leave this corner of my backyard and work elsewhere but I couldn’t get this little guy out of my head. I’ve heard where there’s one, there are more. I’ve also heard the bite of a baby snake is more deadly than an adult – more venom per ‘square inch,’ I guess. Well, as I considered those things, I decided I probably shouldn’t allow that little guy to stay in my flowerbed. But, first I wanted another pic…IF I could even find the little guy.
With pliers in hand, I returned to that corner of the yard, determined to snag him by the neck. I’d used a little 3″ long stick to move him around earlier. That wasn’t going to happen this time. I wanted to stretch him out for his first photo-shoot.
By now, the sunshine was warming his little body, and when he saw me coming he wanted nothing to do with my pliers. He scurried away very quickly.
“Awww….he’s camera shy,” I thought. Then he stopped, turned, and took another glance my way. “Maybe he’s posing,” I thought!
He curled up, raised his head up then struck – seriously – mouth wide open and tiny ‘tongue’ doing calisthenics in the direction of this plier-wielding woman. I quickly reached for something with longer handles! “Alright, little buddy. It’s on.” And, that’s when it happened. Guilty as charged. Pre-meditated murder. Actually, it was self-defense. Seriously, it was!
My little buddy is no longer with us. There will be no funeral. I’ve thoroughly disinfected my tools. I scrubbed my hands with soap, while reciting my ABCs. And, I’ve retreated to the safety of my own home and the comfort of my dust-covered keyboard.
The backyard will wait. I’m no longer feeling the urge to dig in the dirt – not today, at least!
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