The Antidote

A visit from a dear friend is "good for what ails ya."  I had a plan and a timeline worked out to get everything necessary done before Linda arrived.  As the saying goes, "Make a plan and listen to God laugh."  One thing and another happened to throw a monkey wrench into the works and I was still scrambling to finish as she drove up (but finish, I did!).  Farview was showing off for company.  There is a lot of green on the ground now and bouquets of daffodils have cropped up everywhere.  In just one day, the winter-barren oaks have popped out leaf buds.  It was a perfect afternoon to sit outside in the warm sun with a light breeze and catch up with a friend of what must be close to thirty years.  Distance and the passage of time are irrelevant as we pick up the threads of conversation as if we'd seen each other yesterday.

After what had been a long day for each of us, we'd agreed to an early bedtime.  And what did I say about making plans?  As night was falling, I'd lit the wood stove to take off the chill.  I put in one last log about the time we were yawning and nodding.  That was a mistake.  That log was about one inch too long for the fire box and I could not shut the door.  Not shutting the door meant smoke escaped into the room.  Smoke in the room set off the alarms, first one, then another, then all at once.  Poor Satomi in the laundry room was about to have a coronary.  Bessie ran around berserk.  I was opening doors and windows on a cold night.  Sleep was out of the question until that piece of solid oak burned down enough to allow the door to close.

Laughter, the perfect antidote for such a situation.  It was a good day.