Just a thought… Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength – carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. [Corrie Ten Boom]
Today and this week, I’m playing Beat the Clock on two different stages. I don’t even remember the actual game show by that name (or more importantly, its theme song), but those three words keep beeping through my head like a dying smoke alarm battery that should have been changed when the time went ahead for most folks this past weekend.
Beat the Clock Part ONE: Me Doing Time Zone Math.
Here in this peaceful and gorgeous area of Mexico, the clocks did not change yesterday. So, for the sake of argument, let’s say it’s 10 am here Monday. That means that Ontario, where my pal Lisa, with whom I record Gracefully and Frankly every week, is two hours ahead. So it’s 12 noon there.
But in BC, where my husband (who arrives this Sunday at Puerto Vallarta airport) is readying our new cabin for my return, it’s 9 am. So now he and I are just one hour apart. Okay….
I could write an entire blog on how BC not changing back to Standard Time in the fall, deciding instead we’ll be Daylight Time [to be called ‘Pacific Time’] from here on in, is considered by many to be ill-advised and wrong-headed. It was a poll taken years back that had two options: do you want the clock change to continue or do you want to be on permanent Daylight Saving Time? Instead of providing a third option for permanent Standard Time, the question ended there. So congrats on the big win, Province. It’ll be after 9 am when the sun comes up during the weeks in late fall and early winter when daylight is at its most scarce. I feel bad for those who have to get up – people of all ages. We are not meant to get up in the dark.
But that’s just my take, and frankly, no one asked. I’m here in the corner trying to figure out what the hell time it is in areas where the people I care about live.
Beat the Clock Part TWO: Spots on the Sheets
Both of our dogs – Livi, who’s four, and Dottie, who’ll be four on Lauren’s birthday, March 24th – are part of a breeding program. It was the only way we could get Dottie as a mature and well-trained one-year-old, and then Livi was thrown into the mix when both girls had their first litter, met and bonded. (I’ll add here if you’re new to this story – they are from a highly-respected and acclaimed breeder in Cobble Hill, BC called Misty Trails.)
The girls are both due (by contract) to be bred this spring and somehow I booked this trip to end right around the time they’re due to go into heat. Yesterday I saw what appear to be signs that Livi (who always begins first) is starting to enter heat. OH NO. We are supposed fly back with them on March 19th and the breeder will want us to get those dogs to her when their hormones are at their peak. I’m terrified about what this means for flights. Rebooking will cost us literally thousands of dollars, and it’s doubtful we’ll get a seat with a space for a dog (they’re limited per flight) at this late date.
So what to do? Well, for now, we’ll hope that those little spots I found on the sheets yesterday were from a thirsty bug. I’ll take some deep breaths and go back to controlling the things I can, which these days seems to be very little indeed. In these waning days of my stay down here, I am meeting some amazing women and building what will be long-distance and long-term friendships, so there’s that to focus on. The rest is just too damned much, don’t you agree?
Have a gentle week and we’ll talk with you on G&F this Thursday.