Friday, October 26, 2007

10 Minutes




I think I have ARADD (age related attention deficit disorder) because I was composing my story about the Valentine's Day candy and got distracted by a squirrel.


Today in The Sunshine State was gray and gloomy. If you didn't see palm trees out the window and people walking by in shorts, you'd swear it was going to snow. The 82 degree temperature was also a dead giveaway we weren't in Fargo. I went outside to smoke (no chiding, please.) Down on the ground by a car was a squirrel, happily munching on an acorn. We have some very pitiful looking oak trees here. He didn't run in terror when I approached, rather he looked at me with a, "WHAT???" expression. He made me smile.

He continued to look for acorns on the ground, occasionally glancing at me just to make sure I wasn't going to snatch his lunch. He hopped along and then went up the tree, still looking at me every so often. At one point he actually stopped dead, stared me right in the eye and began swearing at me in squirrel-speak. I laughed out loud right there in the parking lot, all alone.


I think I was out there about ten minutes. I had ten minutes of sheer peace and happiness. Ten minutes where I didn't worry about my life, money, global warming, bills, work, the war, the X, my children or Hillary becoming president. It was glorious.

5 blew out from under the bed:

Jackie Adshead said...

Sometimes just a few minutes being at peace with nature is all we need to calm the day down and put our lives into perspective. And being sworn at by a squirrel certainly counts!!

... And you made me laff about the Hilary comment!!

Vi said...

Amazing how animals can do that!

Anonymous said...

Let's hope that squirrel doesn't meet Hillary - she might give him Bill's nuts ( if she hasn't already had them removed!! )

nitebyrd said...

Thanks for the comments, ladies. I really do worry about the state of the US after the next election. I'm not political but Mrs. Clinton makes me nervous. Thank God! for distracting squirrels.

Constance said...

Jackie said it quite well !

And the graphic was great, too !