Unfortunately, my monkey got loose and ran away. As I was rolling down the parking lot after her, I hit a pothole and one of the wheels on my chair was severely loosened. I didn’t realize it until the chair started wobbling, but I was going too fast to stop and fell over. I banged my head really hard and ruined the good hair day I was having.
Not really, but today is April Fools’ Day. I suppose that I could exercise some liberties and make up some really crazy or exciting event that recently happened to me, but that might not be appropriate. Instead, it’s actually more appropriate for me to throw water on the ladies I like and then beat them with pussy willow branches…honestly! That’s because it’s also Dyngus Day, the Polish St. Patrick’s Day of celebration and cutting loose. It’s okay, though, because tomorrow is traditionally recognized as the day the women partake in the revelry and get to return the favor to the boys they fancy. I’m sure it probably sounds quite odd, but being part Polish myself, it sounds about right and doesn’t strike me as the least bit strange.
So happy April Fools’ Day, Dyngus Day, Monday, or however you choose to recognize today.
Yesterday was a wonderful day spent with family and friends celebrating Easter. Another day I found myself surrounded by loved ones and blessed enough to share in the gifts God has bestowed upon me. I might not yet be able to throw my arms around everyone’s neck and hug them like I wish I could, but I feel so fortunate to be able to have time like this. I constantly make the conscientious focus to appreciate moments like these and not take them for granted, something I never used to be good at. I’m still nowhere near perfect when it comes to doing this, but I keep improving.
At one point during the day, I was visiting with Melanie when she got a hold of an Easter basket. She grabbed a plastic egg, opened it up and immediately threw it down when she realized that it was filled with money. She actually seemed a bit perturbed, knowing darn well that she can’t really do much with pennies, nickels and dimes. Before we could get the basket from her, she quickly grabbed another egg and in one swift motion opened it, squealed with delight seeing that it was filled with jelly beans, stuffed as many in her mouth as she could, filled her tiny little fists with the rest and darted back into her cage, out of reach from the rest of us. Jackpot! She then proceeded to munch on Jelly Bellies and suck down water for the next 20 minutes. I’m convinced she was laughing at us as we tried to coax her into giving us the candy. Lesson learned.
I was actually able to enjoy some time outside over the past few days as the weather was sunny and in the low 50s. Still needed the hooded sweatshirt, but enjoyed the fresh sunshine – the perfect soul food.
The 37th Cleveland International Film Festival kicks off this week. There are over 180 features and more than 165 shorts this year, so I’m pretty sure I’ll find a few that pique my interest. If anyone finds themselves down there as well and would like to catch up, don’t hesitate to contact me. I get pretty good seating…ha!
My sincerest thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support!
Stand Strong!
Scott
Read your blog…my jaw dropped. The more I read the worse it got. Mind you, I’m picturing these terrible chain of events, with you hitting your head! Then I’m picturing this monkey running the streets, unable to catch! Thanks for the 🙂
Hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter. After 30 some years at Lehigh, I’m going to retire this Friday, April 5th. I’m looking forward to traveling with my husband and some day in the near future, we’ll stopping by to see you.
You’re in my thoughts and prayers daily.
~Best,
Ginger
Well you scared the dickens out of me with your story. So happy it wasn’t so and that you had a lovely Easter with your family. Melanie sounds like a real cutie. Keep doing what you do so well, keeping the rest of us grateful for all of God’s gifts.
God bless,
Cherry
Damn, you ruined my day . . . for 30 seconds !
Cheers Brother, Mike
And through all of this, you keep your great sense of humor. You are AMAZING!!!
Glad to hear you had a wonderful Easter with family and friends.
Truly, God is so good to all of us.
God Bless You – Mary
Happy Dyngus Day! And I really enjoyed your April Fool’s tale!
Love you!
Scott,
You got me !! I was reading your post…and my heart started pounding..
Then when I got to the April fools part….I started laughing….
I can almost see the glimmer in your eye while you were writing this…
Thanks for making my April fools day complete..
Lots of love
I have to admit you really had me going there. Glad it was just a joke, though!
OK, gotta go shovel some snow now 🙂
Scottie Scottie Scottie!!! What a writer you are!? By far my fav post.. love reading them! 🙂 Glad you had a wonderful Easter!
I always love reading your blog! And darn you….you really had me going in the first paragraph!!! Also I’ve never in my life heard it referred to as ‘Dingus Day’…guess it’s a Midwestern term?
Hope you had a wonderful Easter!
Jen
I agree with the comment above. You are a great writer. I like your style. But even more, i like your perspective on life. It reminds me how full my own plate is piled high with blessings.
Thanks Scott for your honest reflections shared with a wry sense of humor.
From a quiet follower of your journey. (Also a family friend of Jeremy Mohr.)
Happy Spring!
Happy Dyngus Day, cousin! You are a wonderful writer. Thinking about you, love you.