The prompt on
NaBloPoMo yesterday was a very interesting idea and really got my mind to workin'.
(My girls may need to not read this post.)
Have you ever lost anything of value? Do you still think about it? Imagine how you'd feel if you'd given it away instead.
Wow, that question made me immediately think about my virginity. Don't know why it did but that is where this mind goes. When I was young, high school, 17 or 18 I had plenty of chances of giving what I thought a most precious gift away. Yeah, yeah, I'm old fashioned but that is me.
Across the street from my house and down a block was the local Humpty Dumpty grocery store. We walked to the store all the time and when I was 17 or so there was one of the sack boys working that I had a huge crush on. Actually, there were several but this flavor of the week had my attention. He was ahead of me in school by a couple of years and I thought out of my league, but crushes don't understand that. I found every opportunity I could to walk to the store. I would look in the pantry and announce to Momma that she needed corn or green beans or whatever, anything to venture through the checkout line. Finally, after a week or two of that I got a phone call from said crush to join him at a party! OH MY GOSH! I was over the moon. He came by, picked me up and we traveled to Tulsa where we ended up parked on a street where construction for a new housing addition was taking place, no inhabitants. I asked him where the party was and he reached into the backseat to pull a beer out of an ice chest, "Right here," he says. Uh oh! I didn't partake because at the time my parents were HUGE beer drinkers and I wasn't, had never even had a drink. Okay, I was a bit of a prude, naive, innocent, but knew what I wasn't going to do. We smooched a bit but it didn't go too far. Party, Harrumph! At one point he looked in the rear view mirror to fix his hair and actually said, "Not bad looking, huh!" That should have put my radar up but I was young.
I was so eat up with this guy and somehow one afternoon I ended up at his house with no one home. He put on Chicago VII album, in particular the song,
Wishing You Were Here, can hardly hear that song without thinking of him. Anyway, back to the making out. It was heavy, very, very heavy, no clothes kind but the old fashioned kind of gal I was in my head knew that this was not right. I halted it! He was not happy and I can't blame him, I was a tease I guess but reality was flooding my brain. I left him very angry. Later I talked to him on the phone and he told me, "You'll never get a guy unless you give it up. No guy will want someone who doesn't know how...blah, blah, blah!" I knew right then, through all the tears, that I was right. He was a jerk and I was so glad I didn't give it up to him because I saved it for the most perfect guy in the world for me, The Hubby.
I can't imagine if I had gone all the way with the guy. Hell, he didn't even have protection and I surely didn't. What if I had gotten pregnant. I was reminded all the time of my friend
Jean Ann who was dealing with that and I surely didn't want to follow in her footsteps or some of my close relatives. My life might have taken a very different turn if I had followed the young heat. What about you? Have you ever lost anything of value? Do you still think about it? Imagine how you'd feel if you'd given it away instead. It doesn't have to be anything this intense but does make you think, doesn't it.
. You can see how much snow there was around that tree. 
Just some perspective of the depths of the snow!
The Big Thaw has begun, but wait it is to only be a brief happening as more is expected today and Tuesday. The Hubby insisted yesterday that we take the Jeep, my car out and try out the 4WD. My poor Daddy has been home bound for his hip thing and I was worried about his driveway as the city had plowed right over the entrance. Last time I checked his home health care nurse could not get to his house because of it. So off we headed to see him. Actually the highway was not too bad but the side streets were still in awful shape. It was weird seeing all the abandoned cars along the roads, with piles of snow on them. It will be summer before they are able to pull them out. We arrived at Daddy's and his drive was opened up. I just talked to him on the phone and said that is why we were coming down. One of his hearing aids is on the fritz and he probably just heard we were coming. No problem, he needed the company. The Hubby got right to work cleaning his sidewalk, front step, and huge icicles off of his eaves around the house. He also cleared the huge snow drift at his back door so he could open it if an emergency. The neighbor across the street had already headed for the grocery for some milk so, our work was to visit. We did go to the liquor store to get his box wine of sangria he loves so much at dinner. I was to take him to the doctor tomorrow but he had me reschedule, afraid of moving out and about in the stuff. 
One of the main objectives to getting out was to go to Bass Pro Shop for me some tall wader-like boots, like The Hubby's. My guess would be so that I could help him clear snow! While moving that direction we caught some of the hills and sledding. My the kids were having fun and this scene was played out all over the area. I never thought I would say this, but it looked a bit fun. 
Finally, we got to Bass Pro Shop and after a bite of lunch the great hunt was on for the perfect boot. My new fashion accessory, what do you think. Actually, we passed by the women's clothing and I found a few cute things. Who knew! 
It is 5 am (6 by the time I finish writing this) Saturday morning. Ahhh, getting to sleep in on a Saturday morning. All week long during this snowpocalypse The Hubby has kept up the usual habit of up at 5 am, his and my usual routine. Clayton though had other plans so up at 5 I go into the kitchen to feed him and then back to bed. I walked down the hallway and think hmmm, that's an unusual sound. Must be the ice maker is acting up and filling. I walk past the ice maker and the sound is not coming from it. The sound is usually a blissful sound of running water, but, not during a blizzard. I went to the end of the house, the laundry room and I hear water running. I opened the cabinet under the sink to not see water running out. Thank goodness but I hear water running. I usher Clayton out his doggie door and quickly get his food ready and then rush back into the bedroom to announce, "I think we have a broken water pipe." He jumps out of bed and goes to the laundry room to check out the running water sound. I have grabbed my house shoes and robe by then and go out into the garage just sure there would be water in there or seeping through the side door, nothing. Here he comes all dressed in his winter garb, wadding boots, snow cap and flashlight in hand. The garage door goes up and he disappears around the side of the house. I stand and wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Finally, I duck back inside where it is a tad warmer and I hear, WHAT, no water running sound. Here he comes. "The strangest thing," he says, "the faucet was turned on and running." We are absolutely bumfuzzled by this. The old tap outside has a weird finicky kind of valve so maybe the frozen ice shifted it on!? At least it is off and was NOT a broken pipe. I was just scared to death by the prospects of trying to get Frank The Plumber over here to fix it. 
