Who Does This Happen To?

Okay, so I started this post on Halloween. And then I got, um, a little distracted.

Cara,

I am an adult who loves to dress up. But I don't always have the occasion to. When I was a kid I really enjoyed getting to put together a costume and dress up. In October 1979 I was Wonder Woman. I remember because my brother was born two days before Halloween. And my mother sat in the basement very pregnant with my little brother sewing a cape for my Wonder Woman costume. The next year I was a princess with a cardboard and tin foil crown and Stephen was "Pierre the French Painter". My mother was very creative if not resourceful. When I was in middle school my best friend, Kym, and I would put on as much make-up and jewelry as we could. Kind of a punk valley girl/Cyndi Lauper/Madonna kind of look.

I guess the love of putting together a costume and going to the extremes with make-up continued into my adulthood. But basically since my brother and I stopped trick or treating my parents stopped handing out candy. A few days ago I told Mom that I wanted to hand out candy this year. Since I had my surgery (10 days ago) I've basically have only seen my family. Today my dad got me a big bag of candy and I waited for the trick or treaters. Now we thought we understood that kids were suppose to start around 4:00 and be off the streets by dark. Which really would be by about 5:00 since the time change. And it's rained off and on all day and I started to expect very little action at our front door. But just-in-case I got really a little before 4 o'clock by putting together something of a costume. I have a tiara that came with the Happy Birthday Barbie that my friend gave me for my 30th birthday a few years back. Then I got heavy handed with some shimmery blue mineral eye shadow. I decided that I was a "Frosty Princess". Maybe the younger sister of Narnia's "White Witch"? Just when I was considering washing my face (especially because my eyes were getting irritated) a steady flow of kiddos began ringing our bell. My favorite were the two fifth grade looking girls (but I may be way off) who were dressed in all black with a little white face paint on who held up cards that said, "TRICK OR TREAT," on the front and, "THANK YOU," on the back. Yes! They were mimes. But the moment that made my night was when nosey Keyara was trying to pop her head around me and a sweet little girl said, "Oh! A snow dog!" I almost melted right there. "Yes," I said, "That's my snow dog. You see, I am a frosty princess." Oh precious. "A snow dog!" That made the burning sensation in my eyes from the make-up worthwhile.

Now tell me about your Trick or Treaters.

Love,
Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,
I am mildly excited about Halloween today. Yes, just mildly. Let me tell you why:

I don't get into the whole adult dress-up thing. Costume parties . . . eeh. Last year we went to a costume party that was actually quite brilliant . . . The theme was GI Joe & Barbie . . . But even with a clever theme, all i could muster up was a blond wig and my Hawaiian girl costume over my overalls. BUT, to my credit, it was ONE week away from our wedding . . . so I have a little bit of an excuse for being pre-occupied.

NOW, giving out candy to little kids DOES make me very excited. Their cute costumes. Their sweet voices. Giving them treats that will ensue many arguments and power struggles with their parents . . . "Come on, just ONE more piece?!?!?!" Got to love this opportunity! BUT the sad part is, our neighborhood does not have a ton of children.

So, minimum candy giving opportunities + disdain for dressing up = mild excitement. . . Maybe a 4 on a scale of 1-10.

However, I do enjoy fall in general. Switching linens to warmer colors . . . Buying apple cider . . . Yummy smelling candles. I get so wrapped up in the season changes and the holidays because of all of the opportunities to stimulate my senses! Especially taste and smell! Last night, it was a combination of premature Christmas festivity and a little bit of self-pity that moved me to buy my very first egg nog bottle of the season! YUM! LOVE me some egg nog!

The one things I don't care for about season changes is the Fall Daylight savings. It makes me so sad. Goodbye sunlight. Goodbye late nights outside. Hello fleece pajamas by 5:30 pm. Hello melancholy mood. Hello cold evening . . . fleece jackets . . . mittens. Goodbye easy wearin' tank tops and flip flops. Goodbye. See you next May. Honestly, I look forward to Spring Daylight Savings more than my birthday and Groundhogs Day COMBINED! If that doesn't sum it up for you, I don't know what else to say.

About my Hawaiian girl costume . . .

When I was visiting my friend Sarah in Hawaii, I bought a coconut bra, grass skirt, and shell necklace before coming back to Denver. Herb and I were dating and I wanted to make him laugh . . . so i bought the outfit and put it on over my clothes before getting to the meet & greet area at the airport. Funny thing was that i could not find him . . . walked RIGHT past him . . . because he was also dressed up! Incognito! Hat, mustache, wig . . . the works! So much, in fact, that i didn't even notice the flowers he held or the big sign that said "Cara!" on it! Finally, he came and found me and I started laughing! At that moment, I knew for sure that we would get married. A match made in Heaven!

Love,
Cara

PS: i will be sure to provide a tricker treater status update later tonight! i have some tootsie rolls . . . just in case!

Dear Jennifer,

I need to make this a quick one . . . I am planning a suprise date for herbie tonight (shhhhh!) . . . and I have lots to do before then to make everything just right - not to mention lots of errands! but i got sidetracked scrapbooking. oh well. i have spent a lot of time and money buying supplies and looking at other people's work. SO, when the mood strikes to get creative . . . what choice do i have but to heed to its call? no choice, i tell you.

please don't get me started on the whole "socks in bed thing". i used to be a "no way, that's icky" girl . . . mostly because my dad thought socks in bed was uncomfortable and i wanted to be like him. but the fact of the matter is, if my feet are cold, all of me is cold. so, i wear socks to bed in the winter. but here is the trick: once they are warmed up, i slip off the socks; making for a constant lump at the end of the right side of the bed from October - April.
oh, and i LOVE fleece socks. LOVE them.

now, i need to talk to you about elevators real quick. again, i am pressed for time, but this has been on my mind since wednesday. two things:

a) when did we stop teaching people about elevator etiquette? you know how to do it, i am sure because you're mamma raised you right. BUT i am seeing a lot of people trying to go INTO the elevator before the current passengers have exited.

b) when your elevator stops at a floor you don't need to go to.
i. this bugs me because it means somebody on the outside
pressed the button for the elevator to stop on that floor
and then they got tired of waiting and left.
ii. then the people inside the elevator press the floor they
WANT to go to - over and over again. click click click.
dude! that is what the "close doors" button is for ><
the elevator remembers what floor YOU want to go to.
there is absolutely no need to tell it again. don't sweat it.
sometimes they use >< and STILL press the number of the
floor they want to go to. over and over and over.

don't you remember the good old days when people respected the elevator? they looked forward to riding in it. they got dressed up and behaved civil.

now, let's talk about your scar.
gee girl, that be big! i am so glad your pain is not matching your scar. i hope you are healing well!
the only scar i have to speak of is from a time in the 8th grade when i fell off my bike and the chain fell of the gear and three spikes of the gear jammed into my right upper thigh.

Love,
Cara

Dear Cara,

I, too, am not a big fan of the sock. Sure, I am glad to have them when I need them. But finding the right foot insulation can be a difficult task. I’m sure that our Kentucky and Mid-Tenn winters are nothing in comparison to your Colorado snows. But days come when the proper foot garment is required for both the warm and the proper fit of one’s footwear. Right now, for instance, I am wearing fuzzy socks that Tiffany and Jennifer gave me before my surgery (along with magazines and slippers). But when I crawl under the covers tonight the socks will lay on the floor. My toes like to breath when I sleep. In the past I may have fallen asleep with socks on. Yet somehow I never wake-up with both socks on. Often times I will, oddly, find one or both of them on my pillow next to my head. It’s true.

At home cushy, fuzzy, wuzzy, comfort socks. At work usually a thin trouser sock. On casual Fridays maybe a brightly colored sock that nobody sees but me. By-the-way, my cousin, Katrina, loves socks. Her email address even says so. She’s something of a collector. A connoisseur maybe. Perhaps we need her to weigh in on this matter.

So, is it weird that I took a picture (a self-timered self portrait) of my incision? Do you wanna see it? I bet you kind of do. Here, I’ll show you another picture of the lilies you sent me before I show you the picture of my incision. I just don’t think it would be right to spring a picture like that one someone without warning.
So, I’m going to give you need to scroll.

Scroll...
Scroll...
Scroll...And there it is. Not so bad, huh? There are suppose to be stitches under there under the skin. Today 2 of those steri-stirps fell off. It’s just mostly brushed looking. A little red in the middle. But mostly normal my mother says. And that word and I don't always go together in the same sentence unless it's being used with "ab" or "not".

Love,
Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

As I was cleaning up the second of three rooms affected by the flood and poop, the friend i was talking to on the phone suggested I drink wine to ease any back pain that might ensue from the manual labor. I said that sounded like a great idea but that I was always leary about drinking alone at home. A glass of wine at 4:30 in front of Oprah is funny . . . but if it ever turned into a Gin and Tonic at 10am in front of the View . . . that would be scary. Seems like a line I don't want to cross. Just me. Whatever. But I had no problem walking over to the local wine bar (The Village Cork) and drinking by myself at 4 in the afternoon . . . as long as I was in public! Again, whatever. Turns out, I didn't get over there, but Herbie DID open a bottle of wine for me last night. It tasted like chocolate and yumminess. So, after you are off of the pain killers, check out the 2002 Fife Redhead Red! Delicious!

In other news, I realize yet again why I prefer summer to winter when it comes to footwear. Summer footwear is my favorite. It is inexpensive, comfortable, and rarely requires socks. I have never figured out what kind of socks to wear in the winter time. This is a yearly occurrence. You would think I would figure this out and then use my findings the following year. Doesn't happen. I don't want to wear my white ankle work out socks with my nice winter shoes . . . So I normally end up wearing wool hiking socks. Not the most comfortable and normally itchy, too tight and too hot, but since I wear Danskos a lot, it seems to be okay. I know there are other options out there. I just can't figure them out. I can't imagine this is a problem for most people.

What kind of socks do you wear in the winter? Does it even get cold in Kentucky?

Just kidding.

Kind of.

Finally, I read Psalm 86:1-4 and Proverbs 8:32-36 this morning. I liked it a lot.

Have a great day, friend!

Love,
Cara

Dear Cara,

I'm sorry to hear about the poop and the rush to save the important dress from the poop. Yesterday I pooped for the first time since my surgery and it was important. Maybe not as important as the dress. But it was important. Things like that are monumental after surgery.

Other important things after surgery include getting gorgeous lillies from a dear friend on the day you're feeling kind of like a truck backed over you and you only want to sleep. The timing of the flower delivery was just right I tell you. Perfect. And I LOVED the flowers. A gorgeous warm yet crisp fall orange. I wish you could see them in person. But right now I'd settle on a picture. For some reason the computer is not recognizing that my camera is plugged in. I think one or both of them is mad at me for some reason. Well, eventually one of both of them will get over it.

THANK YOU AGAIN DEAR FRIEND.
Love,
Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

I am glad you liked the flowers I sent you. I am sorry they just arrived today. I ordered them last Friday, but it was five minutes after 2pm on the east coast by the time I finally called the 1-800 number . . . .because the web site was not being my friend . . . and apparently 2pm on the east coast is the cut off time for same-day deliveries. So you might wonder, why didn't they come on Saturday . . . or even yesterday? well, let me tell you! then there was something about a warehouse and sitting there all weekend and the distiction between a vendor bouquet and something else . . . so nothing was going to make it to you until Tuesday. . . and it was all so very silly to me. If I had just called them in the first place, you would have gotten them on Friday. But you got flowers on Tuesday instead and I will just tell myself that I am actually superior to all of the pedestrians who gave you gifts on the day of your surgery. SO predictable. I will tell myself that I am a better friend because four days later, after everyone else has moved on and is no longer thinking about your state of health, I thought to send you flowers.

We'll go with that, okay?

I also need to let you know that my basement flooded today. And after frantically trying to locate my wedding dress to make sure it was not being soaked, a nice young man named Chongo from Roto-Rooter came and cleared out the pipes. And while I didn't understand a word he said, my pipes appear to be cleared out now. I would tell you more, but apparently my $200 does not include cleaning the poop and mud off of the flooded floors. So I have to go downstairs now and clean up.

Love,
Cara

Dear Jennifer,
Today I rose bright and early to the sound of my alarm clock. I didn't recognize the noise. I couldn't figure out why Herb was not turning off his alarm clock. Finally, I realized it was my alarm and I hit snooze.

Herb woke up. And after he sang five rowdy rounds of "My name is Jack Johnson, I come from Wisconsin . . . ", I woke up too. If you have a choice, try not to fall in love with an ex-camp counselor. I know you can't help who you love Jennifer. But I'm just saying . . .

I scurried around and gathered everything I need to go swimming and then shower & dress at the gym before going to my appointments. When I got finished with my workout, I was chatting with another swimmer in the locker room. As I rifled through my bag, I declared, "Well, it looks like I forgot a bra and underwear today. Think I can get away with that?"

She smiled politely. I appreciated that she didn't answer. I mean, "No" means I have to rush home to acquire the undergarments. And "Yes" means I have small breasts. I appreciated her ommision of opinion. Somehow, I managed to get out of the gym as slow as a turtle on sleeping pills and I didn't want to be late for my appointment, so the decision was made for me.

Double Commando.

Later, I arrived at the hospital. My volunteer partner Jim rushed in late, out of breath. "Sorry I am late. You would not believe the time I had trying to get over. I left my cell phone, name badge, and wallet all in a nice little stack on my kitchen counter. SO, I have to wear a sticker name tag today!"

And I am thinking, "Really Jim, that's all you got? I'm not wearing a bra."

Love,
Cara