Counting Blessings

Here we are, already at the 5th of July, and it's the first time this month I've had the simultaneous opportunity and inclination to write a blog post. I'm also behind in responding to emails, watching recorded TV shows, and vacuuming, all of which I hope to get to soon. The past couple of weeks have been stressful, stress makes me tired, and my response to that type of fatigue is to reserve my energy and brainpower for only those things that must be done, letting everything else slide for the sake of maintaining sanity. Fortunately, the immediate crisis has passed, and I'm now sticking my toe back into that slightly murky pond we call "normalcy."

Weather Report
It's raining today, preceded by a couple of days of warm sunshine tempered by the kind of cool breezes one doesn't expect in Louisiana in July. It looks like the rain is going to set in for a while, but I won't complain. Given the torrential downpours in the east and the extreme high temperatures in the west, I'm grateful for any weather that falls in the moderate range.

Over Our Heads
The bids are in for the new roof, the contract has been awarded, the color samples have been reviewed and one selected (gray, like it is now), and work is scheduled to begin Monday if the rain lets up by then.

It's going to be interesting to see how well Levi and Gimpy cope with the sound of constant hammering for a day or two. I'm hoping that if I take them outside so they can see what's causing the noise, they'll deal with it better. The basis for that bit of optimism is their response to a roofing-project estimator who knocked at our door on Monday. My "boys" went ballistic at the sound of the knock, barking and growling like junkyard dogs. But, as soon as I opened the door and stepped outside to greet the man, they watched us through the glass storm door and dropped all the attitude. In fact, Levi abruptly left his station by the door and returned seconds later with a tennis ball. He apparently thinks optimistically, too, once the danger has passed.

Speaking of Loud Noises
Unlike Kadi and Butch, whose fear of fireworks made every 4th of July of their lifetimes a miserable event, Levi seems completely undisturbed by them. Gimpy gets startled by the noise and looks to me for reassurance each time a new bout of pops and booms begins, but he carries on. Yesterday my strategy was to distract him to keep his fears from growing. Throughout the day, when firecrackers popped, we went outside and played ball. Ball held his interest over firecrackers every single time. So there we were at nine o'clock last night, out in the backyard, standing in the wide "V" of light cast by the patio light, tossing and retrieving the ball, ignoring the booms, whistles, and fiery explosions going on around and above us. It was nice, and I felt lucky.

The 4th was not so nice or lucky for my granddaughter, however. She posted this photo and caption on her Facebook page last night:

"So much for the fireworks display on the beach!"

That's my great-grandson, bless his heart. And his mama's.