Day of the Duck

It’s been a fun week as Julie, who I’ve known since kindergarten, came to visit me and Sid. She stayed on the certified wildlife farm, sleeping in a pink bunk bed normally used by a 9 year old girl. We had lots of sleepovers when we were that age, so it seemed perfectly natural. As soon as she arrived, we got locked out of the house and she had to crawl through the kitchen window after I used a crowbar to remove the screen. She pointed out that my mother was probably saying hello from the great beyond, messing with my keys again. I mentioned this possibility to my father - he smiled with recognition and agreed it was indeed Mom having some fun with us, just like the old days. Julie was quite helpful; we worked as a team to wrestle the stressed out duck into submission. (Chickens are stupid. I can bribe them with bagels to return to their coop. That duck is a whole other creature – way smarter than me, very humbling.)

Based on things that can’t be rationally explained, Julie suggested that we both get psychic readings at the local County Fair. I went along with the idea mostly to discount it. Ladies in flowing robes with credit card machines on their laps read the energy from our palms. Julie enjoyed her analysis. Here’s the Cliff Notes version of mine: I’m on a journey (duh, I’m always in transit – literally). Helping others is important to me (good guess). I will have 2 income streams in the future to support myself (sounds good, will one be this blog when published?) Someone hurt my heart (isn’t that why there are so many country ballads?) and a man I loved recently deserted me (true, he died). I’ve mostly recovered from bad romance, but I’m protecting myself from disappointment by avoiding dating (based on my match.com and ok cupid experiences, I should run screaming). However, in 5 years I will have a companion, not one I would have expected, and I may have to relocate to find him (now I’m getting interested, is he in Australia waiting for me?) I am on the right track to happiness; I’m by myself but not alone.

Meanwhile, the only men flirting with me are over the age of 80, that’s okay. Dad is my favorite boyfriend right now. He’s not happy that I’m leaving town after a month of spoiling him. In the last 5 weeks he’s gone through a bad fall, a hospital stay, skilled nursing, rehab, a cancer scare and an upset tummy due to eating too many pickles. He’s one resilient guy. Imagine what the psychic reader would say about his future!