When Things Go BLOOM!

Fearful that I would begin to drink before the "5:30 somewhere" restriction, I went for a nice, long walk today. It started as a run, dropped to a jog, and ended with a stroll somewhere around mile 3. This happens a lot when there is more thinking than exercising going on. It's usually the reason for the treadmill. At least then, I'm being pulled along at 4.0 mph. After I solved the work crisis, resolved to remain calm, and decided to act like an independent contractor again, I looked up. More specifically, I looked at the trees. And what I saw was more refreshing than the coldest margarita, more calming than an Italian massaging my head - it was BLOOMS. Well, actually, it was just the buds...but where buds go, blooms must follow! Somewhere between wishing I was still walking on the beach in S.C. and thinking that winter would never end, the spring finally started to yawn and stretch. And all I can say is Thank God. I don't think I'm being over-dramatic here. We Kentuckians have suffered a difficult, icy, snowy, freeze-your-tongue-to-the-flagpole winter. Aren't we technically in the South? Although we are very rarely identified by name by the major cable news channels (generally we are referred to either as the Ohio Valley or the Tennessee Valley - as if we are some huge suburb of the 2 states), we were actually mentioned on all of the news channels this winter - CNN, The Weather Channel, MSNBC, Nightline, Fox, etc. We had the largest power-outage in our state's history due to a(n) historic (if someone has the correct usage of a or an in front of "historic", please let me know) ice storm followed by snow. Coincidentally, that was also the week I accidentally dropped my Blackberry Pearl in a sink of white vinegar I was using for cleaning. I may have had electricity but my soul was cold. So, all of this to say that we SURVIVED!! While it may not yet be time to get the pedicure and box up the Irish cable knit sweaters, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We should get out and have a picnic or hit a round of golf balls because very soon we will be complaining about how it's hotter than the gates of Hell.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog about the interesting mail we got this evening...