If Life Is Uneven

It must be February.

Last year at the end of this clump of days on the calendar I threatened to skip February this year. I'd had car trouble, re-started my job search, and lost the signal for ABC just in time to miss the Academy Awards.

This year the pattern continues.

The difference this year is that I am looking at life through the lens of "possibility."

When the drywall guy came yesterday to fix the ceiling in the sitting room, I was looking forward to crossing that project off the list. In the months since it first appeared, the stain hasn't gotten any bigger and water doesn't seem to be coming through any place else. Two weeks ago I talked to the owner of a drywall company that did a project for us 27 years ago, and he was willing to help us with a small patch.

Once the guy had cut out the damaged area he was ready to reinforce the strapping. I have been curious as to what was going on in the ceiling so I climbed up the ladder to take a closer look and put my hand up to feel around...and it was wet. Oh. There is still water coming from one of the pipes.

There are two ways to look at this: There is a good-sized hole in the ceiling that is going to require attention from a plumber and another visit from the drywall guy before I can put the room back together. On the other hand finding that leak means that it will be repaired before it gets any worse, and we don't need to look any further for the problem.

All that happened yesterday morning before 8:30. I am not a morning person but since the day was already started I kept going. I made phone calls, put dinner in the crockpot, and climbed on the treadmill. A neighbor called to confirm that the man who stopped at his house to ask directions was really coming to see me and not casing the neighborhood.

When the phone rang again I thought it was the mechanic who was working on my daughter's car ~ this February she's the one with car trouble. [We really do need to be braced for whatever February throws at us.]

No, the phone call was about another ongoing project. My job search.

I have an interview scheduled for this afternoon. On Valentine's Day I mailed the application for a long-term substitute teacher position at the middle school in a nearby town. They need someone to start in March to finish out the schoolyear, and next week is school vacation, so it won't take long for me to get an answer one way or the other.

The snow predicted for today turned to rain, so school was not cancelled.

Hey, things are looking up and anything is possible.