octolilly [through the years]

My car is being worked on right now so I’ve been driving my dad’s Jimmy for the past few days. He forgot to mention that the gas gauge is completely whacked.

So, after stopping by Chick-fil-A for supper tonight, I found myself on the exit near Wal-Mart when the vehicle completely died. I sat there, stunned. I have absolutely never run out of gas. Had a few close calls- but I’ve always managed to coast into the gas station. Well, everyone began honking and I began giggling in frustration because I couldn’t find the hazard lights.

I called my dad and he said, “oh, yeah…I should have told you that if you get below half a tank it will die.”

So, I rolled down the windows, turned the music up and spread my chick-fil-a sandwich, fries, cheesecake, and Dr. Pepper out and had a little picnic. I felt a little ashamed to be having such a good time at the expense of all the traffic around me, but I was very hungry.

Quite a lot of men stopped to ask if I needed help but I assured them that help was on the way. My favorite was a young boy who probably wasn’t even 17. He swaggered over in his best manly way, hands on his hips, and asked me in a southern drawl, “ma’am, I’d be more than honored to help you.” I wanted to offer him some fries but I figured that would be sort of weird so I just said, “someone is on the way, thanks” and waved him on.

Last night was my first night in my new little house.

I unpacked boxes and boxes and finally decided to eat supper around midnight (after being ferociously pressured by a friend. But I didn’t have any bowls. So, I had to eat cheerios out of a glass. It was a little odd.

I have also discovered that I’m too short for my shower. Well, too short for the towel-throw. You know how you throw your towel up over the shower rod so that it can air dry? I tried to throw it up there and I finally managed on the third time.

Sometimes I feel as though if I close my eyes for a second, this whirlwind of change will end. But I know that’s not true. Life brings change like storms bring rain. Sometimes slow and easy, and sometimes the gales are overwhelming.

Sudden goodbyes that grip my heart. A new hello that takes away my breath. A little uprooting that’s a bit unexpected.

Someone once said, I can’t change the direction of the wind. But I can adjust my sails.

So, I’m going to adjust my sails as well as my new sunglasses as I head off to an island for 7 days. I think I’m going to be able to blog from there, so look for pics and fun. =) Wish us a good time!

While headed back from Amber’s house on Monday evening, I walked by the back deck. It’s a normal thing to do and I found myself trying to move the lump of cats out of the way so I could go inside. I had just kneeled down to move Jack, when I heard something that sent chills down my spine. Right at ear level, in the bush beside me, a cough. My heart skipped a beat. I straightened up quickly and just stared at the bush. Cough, cough. To my credit, I did attempt a somewhat awkward kick at the bush and then ran inside. I’m still not sure who was in the bushes.

Then yesterday morning I woke up to find a police officer in my foyer. I almost closed my bedroom door and opened it again, just to make sure. But no, there he was. Apparently, someone in my house had dialed 911 just 15 minutes earlier and he was there in full glory, ready to take on fire-breathing dragons. But the problem was that I had not dialed the number, my mom had not dialed the number, and there was no one else in the house. He said that the call had most certainly come from our home and that our last name had shown up with the call.

So, I think that I have figured out what happened with the 911 call. One of our phone lines was down yesterday on and off and we think that perhaps our line was crossed with another. I am comforted by that idea in one respect, because that means that there were no odd people hiding in my home yesterday morning- dialing 911. And yet I’m appalled to realize that someone near me was trying to get help- and no one came.