Sometimes, it’s a wonder that Travis and I lived long enough to reproduce. Recently, I was sent home from work early because the electricity went out. Since I work in an interior classroom, it was difficult to see. Actually, I work in an interior conference room, so it was nearly impossible to see and stuffy. At that moment, I was glad I didn’t work in the kitchen. If you’ve never worked in a cafeteria, you may never know the sheer volume of dishes that pass through the massive industrial dishwasher. That dishwasher is not on the emergency backup generator. I digress.
All I had to do was weedle down my number of students to the number that actually wanted to work on math (the one student finished his math before I took the picture). I sent the rest to the study hall, which has a full wall of windows. I moved my little group to the corner of the senior lounge that was near a glass exit door. It was a little exciting trying to figure out how to make things work. Of course, I didn’t have a full class of students stuck in an interior classroom, like other teachers had.
Eventually, the school organized the buses and sent the kids home. As I drove home, the wind picked up. Pulling in the driveway, the sky started releasing a torrential amount of rain. Abandoning any unnecessary items in my car, I sprinted into the house. Travis had beat me home, which is rare. As we looked out our back sliding glass door, the storm picked up, with wind and rain. It was then that we saw our canoe floating in the water. Not sure how it got there, but I know it had not been in the water earlier in the day. We both looked at each other, then back at the canoe. With few words, we both went to change into our swimsuits. We are so in tune to each other’s stupidity, we don’t even need to talk about it. We ventured out into the torrential wind and pelting rain to grab that canoe out of the water. I don’t actually remember lightning (typically, I am afraid of lightning and water), but the blinding rain, while we were slipping around trying to carry the heavy canoe, made it difficult to be sure about anything requiring clear vision. But we got that canoe from the water and deposited it on the lawn, where it remains today. We grabbed a few other things blowing around before heading back to the house, dripping and laughing like a couple of kids.
I realize most people would have just watched the canoe to see where it landed. Maybe made a plan to retrieve it after the rain subsided. Seems logical. There was not enough rain to actually sink the canoe, but with the rain and wind combo, I wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t tip, collect water, and sink. If our neighbors saw us, they probably weren’t even phased. We wear stupid well and often.
So, have a great week everyone! And stay safe sage out there. We may need some smart people to save us someday.