WyzWmn's World©

today would have been my father’s 82nd birthday…

In thinking of Digger today
I am reminded of the “It’s a teapot” story
the year we bought mom a tv and vcr for xmas
apparently as the story goes when I was quite young – before there was a brother and sister
dad took me shopping for xmas
we bought mom a teapot
on the way home he admonished me over and over “don’t tell your mom” “it’s a secret” “don’t say anything
to which I solemnly swore repeatedly “I won’t…it’s a secret”
we walked in the door
mom said “what a lovely box – what did you buy”
and I responded with “it’s a teapot!”

so back to the tv

we’d hidden it at Diggers
and he was leaving mom’s on the 23rd and said – “I guess I should get home so you kids can pickup your mom’s tv”
and then realized what he said and muttered “fuck” very quietly
Kelly and mom were sitting on the couch
they looked at one another and howled – “its a teapot”
which is a standing joke in our family about how I can’t keep a secret
and then they just laughed till we all were

poor Digger sure was sorry
but it was the laugh of the century for all of us

I do miss him

what a day!
I woke up at 4AM
when I rolled over
in my sleep
and something made
my right foot wet

in my bed

I says to myself
Self
this is wrong

so I sat up
turned on the light
put on my glasses
and flipped
the covers back
at the bottom
of the bed

some small black animal
who’d been off her feed
for a day er two
had yakked all over
the bottom of the bed

how one little 3.5lb dog
can yak up that much
is beyond me
but there I was
at 4 AM
stripping the bed
showering
remaking the bed

and trying
to get back
to sleep

went to work
had one of those
dog chasing my tail
days
couldn’t get a grip on
one solid thing
but got a myraid
of stuff
that I’d been
putting off
done
so it wasn’t
a complete
write off

I have to
go into the hospital
for tests
tomorrow morning
the kind
where they knock you out
and won’t let you
be an adult
and drive yourself
home

one of them
gut tests
where they knock you out
and tickle your tonsils
and then everything else
with a camera

so I figured
that after work
I should get the
groceries
I couldn’t
concentrate on
yesterday
after the
screaming and flailing
children

but because
I’m basically weak
I’d best
eat dinner
before shopping
so I don’t come home
with a case
of dark chocolate
and no vegetables

I went to Red Robin
and ordered
a huge
cob salad
and sat there
and read my book
and eat my pail
of greens

when I got up to
pay my bill
the server told me
that the bill
had been covered
by someone that
had been sitting by me
and Merry Christmas!

I was gob smacked
I love the concept
of Random Acts of Kindness
almost as much
as I love
Random Acts of Culture

I got to say
this tickled me
While I have
in the past
participated
in Random Acts
of various kinds
this is the first time
one was
perpetrated on me

I try really hard
to live my life
from a position
of kindness
sometimes I win
and sometimes I don’t
I remain but
a work in progress

these anonymous people
taught me
another lesson today

they taught me
to accept their kindness
with gratitude
and to pay it forward
you bet I will!