Life has been a crazy kind of hectic lately. Too much to share here, however, I would like to share an excerpt form my current read, Marley and Me, by John Grogan . There can be tense days sometimes, and yet, this book is a constant delight. I’m sure there will be a time for tears as I read later, but for now it can make me laugh out loud.
To set the scene, this is when Jenny has to stay in the hospital as she is in labor way too early to deliver. John is left to fend, not only for himself, but for toddler Patrick, and Marley as well. This is the telling of one visit to see Jenny in the hospital . . .
I tried to fool Jenny into thinking I had everything effortlessly under control. “Oh, we’re totally fine, I told her, and then, turning to Patrick, I would add, “aren’t we, partner?” To which he would give his standard reply: “Dada!” and then, pointing at the ceiling fan:”Fannnn!” She knew better. One day when I arrived with Patrick for our daily visit, she stared at us in disbelief and asked, “What in God’s name did you do to him?”
"What do you mean. What did I do to him?” I replied. “He’s great. You’re great, aren’t you?”
“Dada! Fannnn!”
“His outfit,” she said. “How on earth –“
Only then did I see. Something was amiss with Patrick’s snap-on one-piece, or “onesie” as we manly dads like to call it. His chubby thighs, I now realized, were squeezed into the armholes, which were so tight they must have been cutting off his circulation. The collared neck hung between his legs like an udder. Up top, Patrick’s head stuck out through the unsnapped crotch, and his arms were lost somewhere in the billowing pant legs. It was quite a look.
“You goof,” she said. “You’ve got it on him upside down.”
“That’s your opinion,” I said.
But the game was up.
As you can guess – I recommend reading Marley and Me, by John Grogan. I know the movie is good, but the book has a tone to it that the movie doesn’t. Maybe it’s a sweetness.
As for me, there are times in life where everything feels out of control. You may not be able to control what is going on around you, but, you can control how you react or non-react to it. To finally have come to a quiet time in life, it has been disruptive. It will only get me to appreciate the quiet even more when I get to still waters once again.
Have a great weekend!
Doris
© Doris Clark, August, 2019
