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Quirks, Decisions and Dairy Queen

So, I have to make a decision and I am all in knots about it. My kids are in California. My sister has to go to California to take care of some business. She is tempting me to go with her. I could see my grandson and my kidlets. I could see my friend before she has a big milestone birthday. I could have coffee with my buddy Vicki and her birthday is coming up too. I could taste real Chinese food and real Mexican food. I could eat real San Francisco sourdough bread. Sounds good.... but of course there is a catch. Not only is airfare an expense, but renting a car and parking at the airport and stuff.... and then... here's the big one... I would have to be my dear ol' buddy Chet the Wonder Dog in the kennel for a week. That's almost two whole months in dog time. He's approaching 12 years old, he's slowing down and my guilt glands are swelling just at the thought of it.

Now, ain't it funny that a woman who made life and death decisions for years is having such a hard time with the thought of putting her aging canine companion in a perfectly lovely boarding kennel. He'd be safe, monitored, fed, played with and loved. I think it wouldn't be as huge a consideration for me if I had been planning to do this. I need months to sneak up on stuff. It took me 7 years to buy a new couch once I decided I wanted one. That didn't turn out well for me. I bought it, my life changed and then I moved to Kentucky. Here's a pearl of wisdom. If you have to move across country, ditch your furniture. Nothing made it across the 2600 miles unscathed. My new couch got tweaked and one armrest came loose. . . but I digress.... I was talking about my dilemma....where was I? Oh yeah. Going to California hasn't been on my radar. I miss my kids. I love my family. I feel creepy all over for hesitating. All I can think about is how much my body aches now and how much it will hurt to be in a plane for 5 hours at a time. How my doggie will be older when I come home, how my momentum will be thrown off.. When you're old you shouldn't mess with your momentum.

Getting old isn't for cowards. Neither is being quirky. I like discovering people's quirks. I like it when people notice mine, unless they are annoyed by them. I won't list my friends quirks, but here are some of mine. I don't like to drink the last 1/2 inch of whatever beverage I am consuming if it is in a glass I can see through. My siblings used to make fun of me. Once my sister, Linda, put a slice of cucumber in my drink to see if I would find it. I did. I spewed what I was drinking all over when it touched my lip. I freak out if I sit in a booth at a restaurant. I mean full blown panic. Give me a table I can get away from quickly. I don't sit with my back to the door. I can't touch apricot or peach fuzz. Rubbing cornstarch between my fingers gives me goosebumps and makes me shiver. I hold my breath when I watch underwater scenes on TV or in movies. The Abyss, one of my all time favorites, makes me panic and turn blue every time I watch it. I abhor listening to music I can't understand the words to. As I get older, the choices are narrowing.

Choices.... that brings me back to my California quandry. I am in knots trying to decide. This is one of the times I wish I could open the bible and pick out a random verse and have it tell me what to do. "Yea, verily, arise from your recumbent position and haste to Delta, where thou shalt buy a round trip ticket to California." 1 Hezekiah 2:3. The pressure being too much for me I took my dog to Dairy Queen today and got him a treat cone. It was his first. I thought, "What if I decide to go to California and something happens to him and we never got to go to Dairy Queen together?!" Yeah, that's right. A bucket list for me and my dog. In the Kentucky rain we drove to town, I ordered his cone and held it while he partook. I think he experienced brain freeze. I still don't know if I am going to California, but my doggie was happy. That's all that mattered.

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