“Remoted” – Workday 149 / Day 218 (Tuesday)

Spider! 

Tuesday had a lot of things going right and for that I am grateful. Progress was made. Clarification was received. Priorities were shuffled. It seems like my nervous breakdown is now postponed, so if you are in the office pool and picked me to snap this week, you might be out of luck. Ok, I made that up. There is no office pool. Not that I know of, anyway.

The tree behind my house has been turning colors since the end of August. First it was red on a few of the outermost tips of some branches, and it has progressed steadily. I missed the prettiest glow of the sun and the red leaves today. Well, I saw it from the kitchen, so I really only missed getting a photo of it. By the time I made it outside with a camera, the magical light had already shifted and that glowing had become blah, and there was a hint of skunk in the air. Maybe I can catch it tomorrow. The leaves and the sun, not a skunk. There was a big spider in a web near the fence. That is pretty much the full extent of my nature trip outside. 

The day was delightfully free of roaming nuisance neighbor dogs. There were no calls to ignore from unknown out-of-state numbers. Arizona is up this week, and I know zero people with an Arizona phone number. Last week there were calls from Tennessee, where I do know people, but not the numbers ringing in. The week before that, it was Georgia calling. This sudden popularity could go right to my head. 

A nice letter from a stranger.

I also received a lovely letter recently from a total stranger with nice printing. The letter was in pencil on yellow lined paper and invited me to visit a website and engage in Bible correspondence. I admire the precise lettering, and I can't recall the last time a stranger was concerned for my spiritual welfare. I can't help wondering what list I am on to have received the letter. The return address, according to Google, is the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is pretty much the extreme opposite of the anonymous letter in my mailbox (summer of 2018?) inviting me to participate in "sweet lovemaking," and all I had to do was circle yes or no on the letter and leave my response under the flower pot. These might be an interesting study in contrasts framed and hung side by side. 

I completed my ballot and planned to deliver it to the drop box after work, but then I was noticing the tree, and cooking and eating. Oh, look, a squirrel! And then it was dark. Tomorrow. I’ll drop it off tomorrow. Then I can stalk the state website to track when it’s accepted, the same way I track delivery alerts. It’s the small things that keep life interesting.