It Wasn't the Storm

It wasn't the storm that kept Cousin Karen from visiting. It was the death of her maternal grandmother. (Her mother died of cancer some years ago.) I offered condolences and the promise that she can come up after the New Year. After this week, I have one vacation day left.

So while it wasn't exactly Thanksgiving, it was a vacation. It turns out it was a desperately needed one, at that. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed aloud, but I did this week. After cleaning up as much as I was going to for Karen's visit, I started to watch videos. Jim Carey movies. Adam Sandler movies. I have a soft spot in my head for Adam Sandler. He was actually pretty hot in "Airheads". When I watched dramas, they were old favorites: "Triage" and "300". I know the dialogue to "300" now.

On Monday morning, I went to the bank to cash an insurance reimbursement and found myself with $140 cash in my hand. It was intended to entertain Karen and me. Maybe a movie, a trip to Herschel for a cut and color, a visit to the lunch buffet at one of the Indian restaurants and if there was enough money left over, dinner at a steakhouse.

Instead, I put it in my wallet and there it resides with the moths that live in Scrooge McBecs's moneybag. Oh, I thought of going out and spending it on myself, but for once, reason prevailed. Actually, several reasons. One reason was that if I went out and spent it on food, I might get accustomed to having food in the house and we can't have that now, can we? Another reason is that this is the time of year for forgotten expenses. Whoops, there's the car insurance bill. Whoops, there's the Day-Timer refill reminder. Whoops, there's something else that I'd forgotten about completely.

For someone who doesn't have much food in the house, I don't exactly seem to be starving, so I must be doing all right.

Oh, and for the first time in my life, I'm going to throw away baked goods that have neither spoiled nor gone moldy. I baked a Marie Callendar frozen pumpkin pie yesterday and it was so sweet it made my teeth ache. It's going in the garbage. The next time I'm near a Cheesecake Factory, I'll pick up a slice of pumpkin cheesecake.

It wasn't a Thanksgiving and I didn't try to turn it into one. It was just another day of vacation and I enjoyed just as that. It was a sunny day and sunny days are all too rare for me. I have to go outside the building at work to see the sunshine. Watching the clouds and sun from the comfy couch has been a luxury for me. If that's all it takes to make me content, then I count myself as lucky indeed.