A Good Good Friday

This was a good day from start to finish. To begin with, my office has long had the policy of giving Good Friday as a holiday. It generally falls close to my birthday, so it's like getting a day off as a birthday present.

This morning I started the day with a trip to the vet's to get the last booster for a vaccination that is required for Coco and Mojo to board when I'm on trips. I wasn't looking forward to the chore because I hate that they almost always get a needle in the rear when I take them for a ride. Might have something to do with their dislike of traveling.

However, today they made the trip with relative calm. They were not upset when they realized they were at the vet's. They weren't happy to be taken off, leaving Mom behind in the waiting room, but they were quickly back and one of the techs sat down on the couch with them while I settled their bill. I was pleased to see that both of them were wiggling with pleasure as the tech petted them and cooed to them and BOTH of them gave her nose kisses. It was evidence that they remembered her from their first boarding experience and that they were happy to see her again. It was quite a relief to me to see that they were comfortable. It will make boarding them next time a less traumatic experience for Mom.

We spent a couple of productive hours after that working on a display board I'm putting together for next month's family reunion.

And then I headed to Smithville to attend a book signing stop by one of my favorite local authors, Susan Wittig Albert, who just started her latest book tour. What fun I had for the next two hours.

I got there early enough to buy two books and get them signed and personalized and to get the opportunity for a little bit of chatting with Mrs. Albert. I discovered her at the beginning of her writing career thanks to an article in the local newspaper when she published a book about her decision to leave a high position with Southwest Texas State University, along with its stresses and academic politics, and pursue her first love of writing. Shortly thereafter she began a mystery series which I have read faithfully and this book tour was to promote the 17th volume in that series.

I had purchased a first edition of Work of Her Own, the book she had written just before she embarked on writing mysteries and I took it along with me today. She was gracious enough to sign it and remembered my name when she mentioned it later on during her talk.

I was not sure what to expect at an event like this to be held in a little town like Smithville, but it was a pleasant surprise to see how many people turned out and how many were enthusiastic fans who knew as much or more about the characters in her series than I did. Mrs. Albert spoke for an hour, entertaining us with tales about how she got to where she is (she is one of those people in a long line of folks who have penned Nancy Drew books) and how she writes. The hour zipped by and then she spent another half-hour answering questions from the audience. It was a most enjoyable way to spend a holiday afternoon.

A certain psychic whose audience I have sat in twice at events in Austin has made the comment that things happen for a reason. I think today is evidence of the truth of that. A lady sat down in the row ahead of me as we waited for the presentation to begin and struck up a conversation with me that quickly turned to genealogy and the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I've been invited to attend their next meeting as her guest, which meeting is scheduled to be held at one of the historic houses in Bastrop. She was joined later by a lady who has been, until recently, serving on the board of the Bastrop Public Library and we had another conversation about the possibility of my getting involved with that group.

But there was another coincidence involved with this chance encounter with the two stranger ladies. The first lady has been caring for her husband who has dementia and she herself has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I'm not even sure how we got to those subjects, but when she found out I had experience in caregiving in both areas, she was full of questions, especially pertaining to her fears of what might be coming in her future. I feel like I was maybe positioned in that spot in the audience so that she might have someone to talk to that could relate to the difficulties she faces and provide a sympathetic ear for a few minutes on a rare afternoon of freedom.

I ended the day with a stop to pick up my favorite take out dish at my favorite Mexican restaurant. While it kept warm in the oven, the wee ones and I took a nice long walk around the neighborhood and then returned home to feast. Now we plan for early to bed and late to rise.

On a scale of 1 to 10 - today gets an 11.

LSW