Once again, my brain has deceived me. I was excited to finally get all the boys back in school. My youngest is on C track this year, which means he started school end of July, went to school for a whopping three weeks, then went off track. Today should have been the day he went back on track. My other two boys started school a couple weeks ago, so I was looking forward to getting back to a good routine of sorts.
Last night I came down sick. Not really sick, just a major sinus headache and suddenly no energy and no appetite. I made sure to drink a lot of water and I went to bed early. My sweet husband took care of breakfast & getting kids off to school this morning, with the exception of my youngest. I got up finally at 8:15 and got him to school before 9:00.
My mom and sister are here visiting since they have doctor appointments, so I was at the table visiting with my mom while my sister had breakfast and I got the phone call. It was from the elementary school, which of course, is not typical this early. It was Josh, sounding very distraught and holding back his tears, "Mom, I don't go back on track until Wednesday." He could barely get the words out, he's so soft hearted. I could tell he was frustrated with me. "I'll be there in a minute to get you, Josh, I'm sorry." Thank goodness I'm feeling a bit better today. Not completely back to normal, but okay to drive.
The moment I hung up, my black cat came through the screen door with something in his mouth. First let me explain the screen door. It's one of those cool ones "As Seen on TV" with magnets in the middle so that it closes as soon as you've gone through it. We've only had it for a couples days, but trained the animals how to use it right away so that they can come and go as they please. Brilliant idea (dripping with sarcasm).
If you know my cats, they've been known to bring in things they've caught before, so this is nothing new. But this time I could see yellow hanging out of Friday's mouth. He starts to meow with it in his mouth as if asking me, "What would you like me to do with this present I've brought you?" I call to him and he comes right to me. My goal was for him to follow me back out the screen door so we could deal with it outside the house. Instead he sets it down at my feet.
It was beautiful! A little bird laying on my kitchen floor, on it's back with it's feet trembling. I had no idea whether or not it was hurt. I grabbed a napkin to pick it up gently, but apparently was too gentle and the bird flew right out of my hand, so of course the cat had to do his job, which is hunting and chasing...in my kitchen and dining room. I wish we could have had a camera man ready with video going of the event. It could have been a scene in a movie! The bird landed in my basket of medicine bottles on the hutch, so of course the cat is right there to get it out. I was right there to get it out, too, but the cat startled the bird and it flew across the kitchen.
The bird had yellow and green and gray feathers. It was so pretty! It's the type of bird you would see in a walk through wildlife exhibit at the zoo. The thought crossed my mind for half a second that we could keep it and then as Friday (the big black cat) jumped onto the island, knocking things over as he goes, I remembered this is exactly why we will never have birds as pets. Not to mention the fact that they are loud, obnoxious, and messy. I picked up Friday, chewed him out and sent him away.
The bird had landed in the windowsill above the kitchen sink. There's no screen in that window so this is my chance to catch it and set it free. I very carefully moved away the bottles of soaps and cleaners that sit in the window in hopes to not startle it. I also had to move our big box fan and gently open the window. A miracle happened and the bird stayed put. Once again, I caught the bird in the napkin and this time, held my hand out the window so the bird could feel the breeze and I said, "Are you ready little bird? One, two, three, go!" The beautiful bird flew over to the table and landed on the soft seat of a patio chair, probably to finish having a heart attack.
I don't know how Friday managed to catch that beautiful bird without hurting it in the first place, but I am so grateful it wasn't hurt and that I was able to see it! Seems like all the other birds around my house are those dirty birds that ruin everything.
After chasing a cat and a bird around my kitchen and finally setting the bird free, I remembered my poor ten year old waiting at the school for me. Back to reality and the consequences of my scrambled brain. Thank goodness my son is so forgiving!
