Results, rain, teeth, writing

 

Mama was a little disappointed when the results from our COVID test came back from the lab. We were both listed a Negative. Mama is still certain that what we have been suffering is COVID, but the results – thankfully for social reasons – do not bear that out. Anyway, we let work and church know that we are not spreaders of the pathogen du jour, so that we will be less of a pariah upon our return to those companies respectively. We still did not attend services Sunday because neither of us are recovered sufficiently to sit in a group of worried fellow citizens, but we are getting better – very slowly. I was relieved by the negative result. It saves me a lot of uncomfortable conversations at work and eliminates the need for my HR department to track down all the potential contacts I had with fellow workers had I been infected. For now, that is behind us. We need only to recover. That is proving challenging enough.

After a relatively dry day Saturday we got a storm in the late afternoon which dropped almost two inches of rain on us in less than an hour. That was exciting. Today we are expecting another two inches of rain through the morning. To say the least, we are thoroughly soaked. However, when the downpour comes the way it did Saturday, it washes away most of the softer ground in the areas where it runs off. Where it pools, it makes for some soupy messes. Right now, we have plenty of both. Thankfully, all the animals have dry places to stay while the rain continues. The goats are not venturing outside the shelters they are in; however, the chickens do not seem to mind the rain. While the outside dogs are hiding in the garage, the inside dogs are hiding under tables and in corners of the living room as the thunder booms and the lightening flashes. Our bees will not be venturing out this morning. They will wait until this stops before they resume their excursions. As for Mama and me, we are not in need of any urgent trips out of the house and by the time Mama does need to venture out, the worst of this storm will be past us.  

Among the exciting things that happened this weekend in spite of Mama and I not being able to actively participate in the busy world around us, Walter lost his first tooth. Maggie was thoughtful enough to video chat with Mama to let him share the big news. It is always humorous how much that void in the teeth changes the looks of a young child that is passing through that phase. A fun part of growing up. A not so fun part of growing old is that I may have to forfeit my teeth to get my health back. I will find out this Friday as I consult with an oral surgeon about the need to forego any other mitigation processes and get full dentures. It is only a consultation, but at least I can get some answers to the pain I am dealing with.

All I know for sure is that I need some relief and either course of action I take concerning my dental health, it is going to be very expensive. Regardless, I am not looking forward to the process of switching over to manufactured teeth – especially since my job revolves around speaking for hours at a time. During the consultation, I should be able to discover how my ability to speak will be affected by the process and for what time it could be affected. On the funny side, Mama told me years ago she always wanted to kiss somebody with no teeth. I may get to provide her that opportunity on an ongoing basis. I just hope she likes it. Otherwise, I will have to make sure my teeth are in before I kiss her.

Recently I signed up for a course via Audible books, that covers the “how to” for writing creative non-fiction. As I have progressed through only the first two lectures, I am not sure about the content of the full course (23 lectures), but from what I have heard so far, it is the genre that I have been looking for as I pray about actually writing stories or books for publication. Creative nonfiction is story telling of real-life events. One of the hurdles to writing fiction (a made-up story) is creating a good plot and fleshing out great characters. In telling the true story about an actual event, your plot is supplied via real life events and your characters are actual people. The key to success is telling the story in such a way that, while the author never deviates from the truth of what happened, the author can supply details from any relevant angle that will fit the narrative chosen as the story is recounted.

I am looking forward to learning more.