Friends, thunderstorms, and food

I’m writing this on my lunch break, trying to recapture the glow that I had over the weekend. I had an amazing three days, and in only the span of a morning, I’ve already fallen from the great heights of relaxation I had achieved down to this grumbling, mumbling, irritated stoop.

I didn’t work any overtime last week.  In fact, on both Tuesday and Thursday, I left at 3:30, taking vacation hours to fill in that lost time instead of working those hours to fill them in.  When I left on Thursday, I left for the weekend.  I left for a doctor appointment where she told me that my blood sugar, triglycerides, and good/bad cholesterol levels are all only points away from being perfectly healthy.  So apart from being about 100 pounds overweight, I’m the pinacle of health!

Friday, we had plans with a friend to come over for dinner, but she rescheduled to Saturday, so instead we went out to see a movie with a couple other friends.  The movie was awful, but the company was enjoyable.  We went to Outback afterward and sat around until they closed and kicked us out.

Saturday, after sleeping in for the second day in a row, we did yardwork and got the house tidied for company.  And then we grilled corn and hamburgers on the grill.  The food was delicious and the conversation was delightful and we all stayed up much later than we should have on a night before having to get up for church.  A racoon walked up to the patio door while we sat inside on the couch.  He sniffed around with his tiny nose before scampering back to the woods.

I didn’t sleep well that night, between allergies and the thunderstorm that woke me, shouting and shaking, as thunder and lightening and pounding rain rattled the house and my nerves.  But the next morning, everything was washed clear of pollen and the air smelled clean and fresh.  After Justin went to help with set-up, I sat on the rug inside the open front door eating my breakfast and drinking coffee.  He came back to get me for church, which was wonderful, and then we helped with clean-up before heading home again.  We decided to nap, making up for the restless night, sleeping longer than expected, waking when another thunderstorm rumbled through, with hail bouncing and water pouring over the roof like a waterfall.  And then we slept some more, snuggling back into sleep by the sound of rain on the roof.

Today is colder than expected and I’d rather be at home, extending my weekend, than reading drawings under florescent lights.  The seeds I planted Saturday have probably all washed away, and the grill, now filled with soggy ashes, is sulking on the back porch.  But my lunch break is over, so I’ll stop complaining.  Time to get back to work.

EDITED TO ADD:

Sometimes there’s noise that only Rachmaninov can silence.