Finding the Humor In It All

The three dogs I live with, Sage, Ike and Echo, are just that--dogs. They are furry, chew on bones, track in mud, bark at passing cars and fart with abandon. They whine to be let in, luxuriate in front of the fire and occasionally get caught with their heads in the trash bin (Echo is usually the culprit there). But every once in a while, they are much more than floppy dogs covered in mud and that's what gives me pause (pun intended).

They're not my dogs and I'm hardly a foster mommy to them. From the human perspective, I'm a babysitter; from the dog point of view, I'm a litter mate, but I do feel some sort of connection to them. I guess it's because they make me laugh even when I'm in a foul mood. Or the fact that when I come home they each jockey for my attention and obnoxious baby-talk. When I block the entrance to the rest of the house with chairs when they're wet and muddy from being outside Echo wedges his head all the way under until he is just barely past the barricade just to be closer to me. And when I'm working on the laptop Sage walks up to lay her head across the key board, just in case I hadn't noticed she was already there. They dance with me in the living room when I'm blasting the stereo, lay their heads in my lap when I'm working and if I let them, they'd share my beer with me.

These dogs, for all their silly, dusty, bone-chewing antics, have become slightly more than just my roommates dogs. They've become co-workers, workout companions, dance partners, assistant chefs, wake-up calls, jokesters, friends and sounding boards. And yes, even I am rolling my eyes at myself for my "oh-my-gosh-these-dogs-are-so-cute-and -let-me-tell-you-all-about-them" post, BUT they really are that great. And when you live in the frozen, red state of Montana and spend more time with your roommates dogs than any other humans in your life because you work from home four days a week and can't stand to be out at night because it's too cold, then yes--you do get to know and appreciate them more than you thought you would. Besides, they're cuter than most humans I know.

NC

Spring Was a Vicious Rumor

It snowed on Monday. And by snowed, I mean that three very soggy, very heavy, very COLD inches of snow fell out the sky and landed within my line of sight. The nerve... And here I was getting ready to pull out my lightweight jacket, dust off the old sandals and squeeze a lime into my beer. And I had legitimate reasons for being lulled into the unsafe notion that spring was just around the corner. The weather had been sunny. At 65 degrees one day you could even say it was warm. The dogs were getting restless and tracking mud into the house instead of snow, flip flops were being hung in the shoe store and on one fine afternoon I realized that my cheeks were flushed and that (gasp!) I was warm. So no, I was not happy when it started pouring down heavy, soggy spring snow. I was practically a Scrooge about the whole thing and protested by not shoveling the walk, which is city law here in Bozeman, until the afternoon.

But I do have to begrudgingly admit that it was pretty. Because it's heavier spring snow it clung to each and every tiny branch and twig, giving the neighborhood a kind of winder wonderland look. It was also the perfect type of snow for snowmen and while no snow statues were erected anywhere in town on my part, I did seriously think about it.

NC

When You Don't Have Cable

My roommate, who is away on business this week, has left me in charge of his three English setters and one ex-barn cat. Hunting season is over for these guys so they have taken to being very annoyed, anxious and verbal. Even the cat is getting her shots in. Every time a dog walks past her she reaches out and smacks them across the face or bites them on the leg. The other day I saw her latch on to Echo's face with both paws and bite him on the nose. With the lack of exercise and spring snow and thaw going on the interplay between the animals has become hilarious.

More on this later...for now I'm going to fall asleep.

NC

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

As of late I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life. It hasn't been an easy conversation with myself, or with those I've hashed it over with (to whom I say THANK YOU!!!! a thousand times over). I have weighed all the options, written out numerous pro and and con lists, done hours of internet research and surprisingly enough have not come up with an answer to the fabulous questions of, "what do I do with this life?" Apparently Google can't answer that one. Go figure.

But I am beginning to realize that plans, though they may be well thought out and discussed, are not bomb-proof. The universe has a way of jumping in and changing whatever idea it was you had, and before you know it you're running down a new path. Funny how that works.

So while I may be making plans, I'm also going to be keeping that little fact in mind. After all, it's not like I have a choice.

NC

Song of the day: The Essential D.J. Shadow CD

Sleepy Goodness

As I try to type this I am falling asleep. I worked all day at the shoe store, went to a birthday party, and now I'm all curled up and the warmth of the laptop is making my sleepy. Tomorrow I have absolutely no intentions of getting out of my pajamas before noon. I'm going to work, write, research, drink coffee and sometime in the afternoon venture out of the house to find groceries. Sounds like a fabulous Sunday to me.

NC

Song of the day: Josephine by Brandi Carlile

Red Wine and a Hot Bath

You heard me. And now I'm sleepy and warm and happy and going to fall asleep.

Good night,
NC

Song of the day: Trip Around the Sun by Jimmy Buffet and Martina McBride

Just Throw Snow At It

I had my once a week sanity break today--volunteer skiing with the kids up at the mountain. It was the perfect day for early spring skiing. Blue skies, no wind and highs in the 30s. While there wasn't any powder, it was nice to soak up the sun and enjoy some time with the kid I get to work with. He's an amazing little creature with a devilish personality and full knowledge of just how cute he is. He's quick and funny, and just when I think I've gotten a handle on how he skis and the best way to predict where he'll go next, he changes his mind and I end up chasing him down the mountain, hoping that my supervisor isn't watching. I can't use his real name (confidentiality issues) so we'll just call this seven-year old prankster Charlie. While some of the kids in the program have mental disabilities, Charlie has cystic fibrosis but is doing very well. Apart from the occasional cough he's just like any other normal, happy kid, though I would venture to say that he's cuter than most, but that's just me.

Today Charlie and I skied with another volunteer that I met while going through the training for the program. Since we've skied a little together, Megan and I are a bit familiar with how the other skis, though this means that she has seen me take a dive or two into the slopes and I have watched her confidently propel herself down the mountain with the grace and ease of a certified part-time ski bum. Humbling? Um...yeah. The three of us had a great first few runs and Charlie had even been coaxed into skiing with his arms in front of him to help him balance as opposed to dangling at his sides.

One of Charlie's favorite runs skirts down a narrow gully into the trees, a perfect ski haven for smaller people to practice their turns and pop over small jumps. When you first drop into the trees it feels a bit like you're popping down a rabbit hole. I went first and charted where the jumps were to let Charlie know so that he didn't go hurtling over them too fast. Behind him came Megan, watching to make sure Charlie was slowing himself down in time, controlling his turns and generally being a happy kid.

At the very end of the run, just as it comes out of the trees, there were a series of eight or nine bumps in a row that sped me up much faster than I expected them to and seemed to have come out of nowhere. As soon as I came out of the trees and stopped, I turned to make sure to tell Charlie to slow down over the bumps. But just as soon as I had looked up I saw him confidently slow himself down and gently cruise over the bumps without a word from me. No problem. He even hockey-stopped parallel to me and sprayed my boot.

But as I was standing there telling Charlie that he did such an awesome job, that I was really impressed with that hockey stop and that we should probably take some picture for his parents, I neglected to realize that where I was standing was perhaps not the best choice, and looked up just in time to see Megan come barreling out of the trees and tackle me to the ground, missing the wide-eyed seven-year-old by half an inch. There was even a wooshing sound followed by what could only be described as a cartoon-style thud.

As Megan and I tried to untangle ourselves, a combination of embarrassment and worry came out in the form of "I'm so sorry!...Ouch,where's my ski pole?...Don't worry about it--I shouldn't have been standing there...Are you okay? Are you sure?...Here, move your left leg over there, and your right leg there and I'll help you up...I can't believe I couldn't stop! Really, it's okay", and other things two genial pre-adult women say to each other when they've just accidentally gone toe to toe in front of the kid they're supposed to be keeping track of. Charlie, in the midst of all of the polite concern and apologies, began laughing and plunked himself down while happily throwing snow at us, as that was his contribution. He wasn't the least bit concerned. And of course we started laughing, too, even while trying to haul ourselves out of the heap.

I love this kid. Here we girls were, each apologizing profusely and Charlie's idea of how to managed the situation was to sit down, laugh and throw snow at it. I'm sure there's a life lesson in here somewhere, something about not taking things seriously when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone accidentally tackles you metaphorically. And while I'm not entirely sure of what that little lesson is exactly, I do know that sitting down and laughing about it is something we could probably all do a lot more.

NC

Song of the day: Crash Into Me by Dave Matthew's Band

Swimming

My head is full with so many thoughts that I can't even grab one to focus on for a post. The three main focuses in my life, work, family and friends, are all one giant crazy ball in my head. I keep trying to untangle it but as soon as I start to work on one knot I realize it's connected to another, and I get lost and confused all over again. It's almost silly to try and make sense of it.

For the past couple weeks I've been trying to work out kinks in those three aspects of my life. It's kind of put me in a negative place where I can't think straight or make good decisions. But after having a nice long chat with myself (and finally getting a good nights sleep) I've come to the conclusions that life really is strange. Not bad, not scary, not horrible and not tragic--just strange. Sometimes the littlest thing can turn out to be the biggest and just when I think that I've figured something out, and that I understand it, time chips away at it and gives me a new perspective that completely changes the original meaning. The craziness and beauty of the confusion makes me laugh a bit. And that's the best part for me. The fact that I'm still able to sit back, do my best to look at the big picture and laugh is what keeps my sane.

And what better defense is there against uncertainty than a little faith and great sense of humor?

NC

Song of the day: You Can't Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones

Synopsis: It's only brief to protect the innocent

So what did Courtney and I do when she came to town? Well, aside from eating and drinking we shopped, walked around downtown, went to a banquet, sat on the couch and talked, played pool, attended a horse auction and went horseback riding. It was a very full five days that just zipped by in an instant. The blond Texan by way of Oregon was quite taken with Montana. In fact, she may be back in a month or so for a second visit. In the meantime I'm still recovering from her being here (in a good way:-).

And why am I not saying more? Because this is a public page and I have heard horror stories of people having employers, potential employers, coworkers, parents, professors and the like reading blogs they weren't necessarily meant to see. I'm not saying that Courtney and I did anything stupid, or that we got in trouble with the cops, or that we tattooed or pierced anything (not that getting tattooed or pieced is a bad thing), but we did have a very full, much-needed good time.

What I can say about her being here is that it felt really good to hang out, relax, laugh and enjoy life.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson

Silence? Really? Huh....

I know I promised I would post all about Courtney's visit to Montana, but that's just not going to happen tonight. Since she was here I fell a bit behind on work and am now in the processing of catching up.

So tonight I'll catch up with work for the magazine, tomorrow I'll catch up with work for the shoe store, and hopefully tomorrow night I'll get all nice and caught up on here.

Whew...

Cheers,
NC