7 Quick Takes: A Series of Plagues

I’ve had every intention to participate in “7 Quick Takes Friday” in the past. I’d get to number two or three five or six and then promptly get distracted by the shiny weekend ahead… putting it off until the next week… and the next…

Then, along comes a bad day- so horrible, so terrible, so devastating- that it can only be told in small doses. I’m not sure this is what  Conversion Diary intended, but here goes my first (complete) attempt at “7 Quick Takes“.

— 1 —

We’re renting our house from a family that moved to Texas.  (Hey, that’s where we’re from. Weird.) They took all of their stuff with them EXCEPT a few gardening implements and a pond full of koi.

We’re not contractually obligated to care for the koi besides feeding them every other day and shooing away cranes, but we’ve grown attached anyway. They’re like pets to us even though I know absolutely nothing about fish maintenance.

This morning, I stood in the yard in shock as I watched our gardener pull thousands upon thousands of dollars of DEAD not-our-koi out of our contaminated pond.

I have no idea what happened. Best I can guess, the filter stopped working  or backed up in the middle of night and the biggest (most expensive) of the fish ran out of air shortly thereafter. The rest continued to die throughout the day as I made calls to the property manager.

— 2 —

Picked up my son from preschool, dreading the TALK I was about to have with him about the fish…

I arrived at school to find the parking lot packed for 8th grade graduation. I finally found a teeny spot in the back, but  was already so late for pick-up.

Not only was  Scout the last kid left (which is devastating in its own right), I then had to sit him down and tell him about the fish in preparation for what he would  find… or in this case, wouldn’t find… at home. He was so upset he ran back into the school, crying.

His teacher had a talk with him which lifted his spirits and mine until we got to  the car and found a DENT in the rear panel.

— 3 —

Who knew I could be so devastated over fish?

Yet, I found myself in the yard bargaining with God to bring them back. I mean, OH. MY. GOD… I was bargaining with YOU over the lives of fish. FISH! Cold-blooded creatures incapable of love.

I’m never getting a dog. EVER!

— 4 —

Northern California has seen a ton of rain since we moved into this house. In fact, it rained on our moving day.  So, it made sense to turn off our sprinklers. Right? Only if you remember to turn them back on once it STOPS raining…

The gardener also had to informed me that the front lawn died last night as well.

— 5 —

I found a dead spider in our house, which means there was once a live spider in our house… crawling around… on the floor… with my BABY.

— 6 —

Moses. I’m ready to let your people go. Please make the plagues stop.  XOXO.

— 7 —

My face broke out earlier this week, so I tried a new peeling serum that specifically warns  STAY OUT OF THE SUN. Of course, where have I been all day?

Running around  the yard, cycling through the five stages of grief… over FISH… and now I’m splotchy as well.

I’m officially ending this day NOW. G’night!

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