My body reacts poorly to rainy days. I dragged myself out of bed late today and continued to drag myself around. Despite much cleaning and getting more journals closer to completion, I feel like I didn't do as much as I should have. I think my friends' kids wore me out yesterday and all I did was read them a bunch of children's books.

It's still not yours.

A dear friend of mine has shared the same experience with me many times. She goes out of her way to make people feel welcome in her home. She cleans. She bakes. She invites. She gets rejected. It bothers me every time I hear it because Sunday dinners at her house brightened my perspective on life many times.

Lately, I've been seeing her experience from a different perspective. I decided to have a game night tonight. I realized another activity could draw away some of my potential guests. I expected them to let me know in advance. Some let me know immediately. Others let me know yesterday which did give me 24 hours notice. Both of these were acceptable.

However, others waited until about the time that people were to begin arriving to send me a message. Then other people arrived late, which I find more forgivable since they were lost without cell phones. Of course, that means my worrying about them wasn't unfounded, but piled on top of everything else, which includes the last people we invited over completely forgetting to show up and me eating leftovers for the rest of that week.

Digging my own hobbit hole in the side of a secluded mountain looks better and better every day, because even people that I know are wonderful can bring you down by being inconsiderate.

I took my first long drive in a while today. A friend of mine traveled from one coast to the other, so I decided I should take advantage of the chance to see her. Of course, I had to steel myself for two and a half hours of other driver appreciation. I had people try to run me off the road, ride as close to my bumper as they could without touching it as sheets of rain poured down on us, and refuse to use their turn signals for their own safety. I even almost hit a silver car that I couldn't see since they didn't bother to turn on their lights despite the gloom and the heavy downpour. Was it worth it?

Lately, I've been suffering from aggravation caused by other people falling short of my expectations where friendship is concerned. I tried to convince myself that I just ask too much, but I see my true friends (like this one) and I realize I really don't ask too much. Despite being on vacation, she made arrangements for me to visit, she made me feel welcome, introduced me to the children I hadn't met yet. She even slipped in reassurance that her one daughter may not warm up to me. I even remember such thoughtful acts as giving single friends roses and inviting the lonely to Sunday dinner (delicious Sunday dinners).

We found more amusement when we realized that the men's' room door featured a banana and the ladies' room presented two coconuts. I giggled as I pictured a very drunk man using those coconuts for support with a dopey grin on his face.

We followed up this fun with a trip to a candy store. As soon as we walked into the store, I realized that a million little stuffed creatures were watching us. The kids and I instantly began to bond with the little critters. I even got some shy smiles when the animals I played with began chatting with the kids. The trick is to stay young. I always get a laugh out of people who share my maturity level ;), so this was no surprise. Stay young...

Don't worry. It isn't. I felt like Friday might have been though. Due to some confusion between this lovely month of June and roaring month of July, I received a birthday card and a birthday call on Friday. As both of them came from the same individual, I am not concerned about mass hysteria.

By some strange happenstance, I also received a small gift from a friend on that day. A little sparkly and blue bracelet to lure in the muses. I hope it works. My writing ventures have been spotty at best. I still battle the racing thoughts in my mind to get one whole story to paper. I am hoping to conclude the current storyline on my fiction blog this week and move on to a couple shorter pieces to boost interest again. (I get the feeling people want every last drop of blood from a tale now, now, now.) You have to satisfy your readers as well as your own urge to write.

It's been a wild couple of days. I think the lessons they have been trying to teach me involve me moving into a cave in the hills for my own protection from such terrors as puppies, electricity, and other people's opinions.

A friend of mine had a baby on Sunday. Since she already has four unique children, they needed someone to watch a couple of the little ones while her husband reclaimed her from the hospital. Since I had nothing more important than cleaning off my DVR, I agreed to help out. Their dog decided to bark at me so we put him outside. Their oldest daughter, who remind me of me with her love of books and answers, went with her father, so I was left with a sleeping toddler, a quiet little boy, and my little buddy who really needs to bottle some of her energy.

A thunderstorm, complete with hail, brought my little buddy downstairs. Sadly, it took me about ten minutes to realize I needed to let the dog in. After I toweled him off, he tried to show his appreciation to my leg. This led to me trying to subtly push the dog away before he could get any ideas. This worked until the little girl decided she needed to stand on my knees. As I tried to keep her from falling on her head, the dog attacked me again.

Her brother also joined us. He informed me he broke his Lego Tie fighter. I tried to get him to clarify how broken it was and received an explanation as to what a tie fighter is. Of course, I laughed and then proceeded to imitate my noble hero, Yoda. I'm glad the younger generation has been introduced to some of the classics. The he informed me that I shouldn't be wearing pants...I should be wearing shorts. At first, I was a little worried that he thought I had to wear a skirt every day since he usually only sees me at church.

All the excitement of talking to children who got annoyed because I have a predilection for big words left me pretty worn out. When the parents returned, I bowed out to return to my own zoo. Silence welcomed me. No whirs, no grrs, no whooshes greeted me. The electric packed its bags and disappeared. I poked at a few things and then took a nap.

I should have stayed asleep. When the electric returned, I tried to plug in my laptop to find that the charger had been decapitated by my recliner. Needless to day, I was not amused. Luckily, I was able to pick one up this morning or this post wouldn't be happening.

The excitement continued as I worked on a home improvement project. An outlet tried to discourage me from tearing down some paneling by shooting electricity at me. I think I should quit while I am ahead, but I have a feeling my house doesn't plan to refurbish itself.