The Power of Darkness

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

The man, knowing I normally sleep through anything short of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, sneaks out of bed in search of the evil chirping smoke detector battery. Quickly found, removed from the ceiling, it is taken into a holding cell on the far side of the house, where an extraction can be made without waking the sleeping one.

Mission accomplished.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

You've got to be kidding. Another one? Recon part deux. There it is. Another perpetrator is incarcerated.

What is it about the darkness that sucks the life out of batteries. I can't remember hearing one start to chirp during the day. Someday, scientists will have an answer. Until then....after darkness falls....when all is quiet.....

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

Testing Comments Section

My last post did not publish with a comments option. This is a test to determine if that was a fluke or if this thing is just beyond repair.

The primate cages

Watch 'em. Swinging from branch to branch. Checking out each others fleas and ticks. Scratching a back or two along the way. Quite the little community there. Showing off for the crowd and loving the attention. Caring for little ones. Getting a little "affectionate." Sitting in the back of the cage, out of the limelight, enjoying the solitude. Different behaviors, attitudes, personalities.

Why does that remind me of blogging? Swinging from blog to blog. Reading what we like. Responding if we want. Moving on to another. Some we relate to very well. Others seem like they are written in another language. Oh, that's right; they ARE written in another language. (Click "next blog" and you'll see what I mean. But be careful, there's a world of gross out there. Hmmm... just like the primates.) But sometimes, the ones that seem like they're written in another language are written in English.

We see each others' problems, disappointments and trials. We relate. We leave a comment if we think it might help. We read of joys and accomplishments. We leave a comment to congratulate. Helping with fleas and scratching backs.

Why do we do it?

I know I started in a time of trauma. And I know of some others who did the same. The desire to communicate. The need to vent. Some have started to keep in touch with distant relatives, and others at important milestones in their lives.

And perhaps the busyness and lack of personal interaction in our culture makes us feel unconnected. We go to work; work our butts off; chit chat with coworkers. We walk out to get the paper or the mail, and smile and wave at the neighbors. If we have a good relationship with them, we may chit chat...about the weather, our lawns, the kids, other neighbors. We go to church, give everyone our sweetest, most spiritual smile. Chit chat. Tell them how good it is to see them. Ask how they're doing. We're doing great, too! Spiritual smile repeated.

We are so afraid to share. At work, because we absolutely above all else must be PC. What if we mentioned (gasp) religion and someone was offended. Sensitivity training is in your future, right along with a nasty note in your HR file! And really, these people are our co-workers, for heaven's sake. Not real friends. They don't care about our problems. (And often we're right about that!)

We're afraid to share with our neighbors because if we offend them, well, they are our neighbors and they know where we live.

We're afraid to share at church. Maybe because we wouldn't look quite as spiritual without the smile. Sometimes, I think, because we are afraid that in that one last bastion of hope, people would be offended, and gone is all possibility that there is really someone in this world who can understand. Not necessarily agree, but understand, and not mind that you feel differently than they do about an issue. And maybe most often, it's just a lack of time spent together. Getting to know each other enough to trust and share. Classes are great, but it's very difficult to open up in a large group (which for me is more than 3 or 4 people). I think this blog thing gives us a chance to share, to vent, to communicate however we want. About whatever we want. Whenever we want. If we want, with some semblance of anonymity. No threats. No worries. No insecurities.

And now I'm going back to watch the monkeys.....Clicking "next blog" before this thing has time to post.

At the zoo

Let's stop by the aquarium exhibit...

Of course, the dolphins are my favorite! But the killer whales are kinda cool, too. (Anything that makes me feel small holds a special place in my heart!) The way these creatures move in the water is fascinating. Seemingly effortless. Gliding, moving, jumping. Beautiful creatures.

Why the aquarium? The weather has started to warm up and there's this huge hole in my back yard full of water. Yesterday the urge to swim was so strong, I warmed up the spa and floated around in there for awhile, a LONG while, in fact. But I couldn't quite get into the cold pool yet. I am SO ready to swim. So ready to have munchkins squealing and running and jumping in the water. Yelling, "Throw me AGAIN!" to their daddy, who throws them so high in the air, you would think they would be frightened. But they love it. Over, and over, and over. Daddy's arms get tired long before they do. I'm ready to have informal family dinners at the picnic table. We see each other regularly, but often just in passing, and we don't really get to visit. I'm ready to float on my raft, and fall over into the water when it gets too hot. (Every 30 seconds, or so!) I'm ready to get out of the pool on a 100+ degree day, and feel like it's cold, cause I'm wet and there's a wind blowing. I'm ready to see the tiniest munchkin float in her super-wham-o-dyne yellow duck floaty that Pappy and Gram bought her for Christmas. Yep! I am READY to swim.

Wanna have a pool party?!?!?