three short stories.

I’m in a mood.

Well screw that.

I’m in all flavors of moods.

The sour one after you eat too many sour patch kids, the sweet one after a spring rain, the bitter one after the scent of wild onions slathers the air after you mow your lawn for the first time in spring, the tangy one after a surprise is revealed.

By way of explanation, testing season opened this morning. After thirteen years of holding my kids tribute to the state of Tennessee, I’m still not exactly positive how I feel about it. All I know is I hate it. No judging. Unless you know. No judging.

My beautiful house also fell under contract under twelve hours.

Yes. You read that correct.

Under twelve hours.

My realtor called me when I was on the way to meet my Rodan + Fields rep for sunless tanner to let me know my house had just hit the MLS. I got a call an hour later that I had my first showing scheduled. I got a text not thirty minutes after that saying I had my second showing. Three hours later my third showing was scheduled.

And at 8:15, I got a call saying I had an offer.

The house my mom and my dad and I turned from a very depressed, very lonely rental house to a vibrant, confident, and loved home has fallen under contract.

I’ve had God directly speak to me before, but this time, He took out his trumpet and blasted it full volume into my ears as quietly and as loudly as He could.

Allison. My child. It’s time.

And so at 8:30, I signed the contract.

I can only hope, I can only pray that these new soon to be owners love and brag about this home as I did, as I would, as I do.

And then we have Lucy. Oh, Lucy.

My mother ran into a representative from Zignatures Dog Food, the brand that I feed my girls. I came upon this brand because Annie has IBS (yes, puppers can get IBS just like humans) and hers has been diagnosed as allergy induced. Sooooo, I searched for a hypoallergenic brand and landed this one that is also hypoglycemic and has never been recalled. SOLD. The girls love it. The representative gave my mom three cans of the turkey flavor they eat. I brought them home and the girls devoured it. Like wolves. Like wildebeests. When I bought more dry dog food, I went ahead and bought them a couple of cans of canned food as a treat.

It was gone before I could blink.

Apparently, the memo never got to to Lucy, who woke up at 5am, and cried in my face for an hour before I finally got up, she raced to the pantry, and cried where I had kept the cans of dog food. I had to show her empty cans in the trash can, an empty bag where her food had been kept.

She promptly stalked off, ears as far back as they could possibly go, furious with her mama’s betrayal.

Anybody that doesn’t understand a pup is like a kid needs a 5am wake up call from a dachshund who is more or less the equivalent of an advanced kindergartener.

My life in three short stories in the past week.

I left out the part about how my water bill stated paid and actually wasn’t paid and I had to haul my ass down to downtown Johnson City with my receipt to prove that I do enjoy my water and I pay for such. But that part wasn’t the best shade of me, or maybe it was from a different angle. One never knows how a different pair of glasses changes how you see. I also left out the part about how I still don’t have the energy to unpack the last load of stuff in my car, so I’ve been driving around like I live out of my vehicle. Shockingly, only one person has picked up on this fact, and she’s an antique dealer, so I’m not so sure she counts.

In all of my self made chaos, the love, devotion, grace, and compassion of God has kept me afloat. I will never understand Him, but I stand underneath Him, as He stands underneath me. It’s like a puzzle that will never be solved but will be solved on a daily basis. He is my favorite enigma. I know I am His.