Don’t you just hate it when a pet is sick? Recently, Ike, our thirteen-year-old dachshund, wasn’t himself. He slept a lot and didn’t move much, which is unusual, but the chief cause of concern was that he wasn’t eating. Very atypical behavior for our favorite little chowhound. After a few days of Ike’s lethargy, Dave took him to the vet. She did bloodwork, which was all good. However, when she physically checked him over, she discovered neck and back pain. Poor baby. No wonder he’d quiver and tremble when we stroked him. After a week of meds, he’s pretty much back to normal. We still don’t know what happened; we’re just relieved he’s better. Whatever it was didn’t affect Lacey except for sympathy pains. She didn’t eat much either and lost what she ate.

I got back into Book 4 of my series and wrote about three thousand words. After working on a book proposal for a day, I shelved it. It was too frustrating to create a new project when there’s still so much left to do with Book 4.     

Over the weekend, I made a trip to New Braunfels to see my daughter. It was also the first leg on my way to Georgetown to visit a writer’s group. It’s been a while since I’ve driven any distance by myself, so the first time was stressful. The journey was a straight shot on I35 from New Braunfels to Georgetown, so that made it easier, even if the busy freeway isn’t my favorite. There was a Big Brother moment—on the north side of Austin, traffic had slowed almost to a stop. We were jammed in like jar of marbles when a loud authoritative voice said, “If you haven’t already, move NOW to the right.” Hm. How to do that when there’s no wiggle room? Yet, somehow it happened, and the police vehicle nosed its way through. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be a collision, but the true reason we stopped and had to move over remains a mystery.     

The writer’s meeting was lovely. Always fun to meet with other authors. We participated in a zoom meeting about Pinterest. It seems fiction authors underutilize the site, so I’ll be adding that to my marketing plans.

I was relieved when the GPS directed me to take the toll road home. The lighter traffic and wider lanes proved friendlier to my mental state. At one point, traffic came to a standstill, although my GPS assured me it was still the fastest route. Once again, I never figured out why.    

When I arrived home, our son, anticipating Father’s Day, had picked up my husband and they spent the day together. A new grill came into play, and they bought a lot of meat to try it out. Actually, they did all the cooking while I played games with our grandsons and supervised a “dig” into chalky dinosaur eggs for prizes. Yes, it was messy.  

Meat dominated the dinner menu—with sausage, chicken and beef, but they’d also made guacamole, grilled corn, and created a bean dish. Phil sauteed a small pan of peppers and onions, but there was nary a green food in sight.    

I wished I had taken pictures, so I made sure Dave and I posed in a Father’s Day photo booth at church. And now it’s back to the grindstone. Writing a column and wrestling Book 4 out of my head onto paper. Or a screen.   

Although the week was sprinkled with things I’ll never know or understand, I remain confident in the goodness of God. Many people aren’t interested in God because they don’t understand Him. I agree, He’s quite the mystery. But when I draw close with a sincere heart, He reveals Himself. Then I find He’s worthy of all my praise.