Down and then out, Shots

I drank a lot of coffee yesterday to combat the extreme drowsiness I was feeling. I had two large cups in the morning and another mid-afternoon after picking up Elsa from her dental cleaning.  This was the first time she has had it done and the first time she has been under general anesthesia.  I could tell she was still a little whacked out when they brought her out.  She was this way for the rest of the afternoon but later she was more normal and ate her supper.  I felt badly but her teeth are way better.  They also gave her nails a serious clipping, much more than I feel comfortable doing at home.

Since I wound up getting home earlier than normal I decided to put the extra time to use, getting on the tractor and mowing the yard.  Unfortunately the changing of the seasons means grass will be growing at a much faster rate, soon requiring weekly mowing once again.  I wore my headphones while mowing.  It makes the outdoor tasks pass faster it seems.  The challenge is trying to wear them in conjunction with one of my oversized brim hats, they just don’t work well together.  I could opt for ear buds but historically that type of device gets very painful for my ears very quickly. I must have an odd shape in there.

I discovered the three blue mockingbird eggs had hatched on Tuesday.  I have had a nest at this same spot before.  It’s great because I can very easily watch the amazing process.  It is very surprising how quickly the babies will grow and move out of the nest.

By the time I ate dinner all of the caffeine had left my system.  As I was watching Better Call Saul on the DVR I realized my eyes were closing as I was sitting upright.  I stopped the show and figured I would just lay down for a few minutes and close my eyes.  Three hours later, I woke up, a little before 9PM. It was sort of disorienting waking up at the time where I normally start thinking about winding things down.  The end result was me staying up until midnight.

I am off work tomorrow, giving myself a four day weekend since Monday is Memorial Day.  This past month of May has been one of the busiest and significant I can recall in a very long time.  All of the medical testing and procedures followed by two weeks of memorable, meaningful and different experiences where I have a had a chance to have more appreciation for what life can be has made May 2022 one for the scrapbook.

Yes of course I read about the horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas.  As is always the case, the outrage reignites the automatic weapons debate, on both sides of the issue.  I have seen this cycle recreated so many times over my life time I feel almost numb to it.  People are horrified by these tragedies, politicians swear to make changes and NRA lobbyist fueled individuals in power quietly kill it off once the fervor dies down.

Much like a lot of things in the world, I feel powerless to make significant change in things that are not directly under my control.  At this point I do no know that there is ANY level of senseless gun violence that would be able to actually move the dial towards sensible lasting change.  Those that stoke the fear in individuals saying that something as simple as mandatory background checks is akin to the government taking your gun away are just playing mind games intended to further their own agenda.