Silly annoyances

The last day has brought some disappointments along with the blessings. I'm hoping that writing about them will help put them in perspective.

Our mouse issue, which we thought we'd taken care of, instead seems to have grown worse, as we're seeing evidence of them in new places.  Gross.  We're taking more aggressive action now, but I have to figure out where they're getting in.

Cassie and her wee ones got into town safely, but she's apparently decided to stay at her mother-in-law's place, and we didn't even see her and the kids yesterday.  I fully support her staying wherever she think is best for Nic to be, and I can understand she didn't want to go out, but we couldn't get invited over to say hi?

I had a major schedule conflict last night.  When Jubilee discussed our potential gig at St. Luke, I already knew about our love circle's Christmas party, and so I told everybody I wouldn't be available for Evensong.  But after missing a gig because of being out of town, and then getting snowed out of evening prayer at both Maria Stein and St. Helen last week, as well as being out of town for the previous two Sundays' evening prayer at St. Helen, I just wanted to sing with Jubilee last night.  Unfortunately, it meant leaving a lot of folks I love at the party after only being there for an hour, including 3 of our oldest 4 grandkids (Dylan was out to dinner with his folks for his birthday).  So I ate way less than I wanted, including skipping dessert, so I wouldn't have anything interfering with "the bellows," and the party was over by the time we finished with the service at St. Luke.  And I missed seeing Michael and Christopher as magi and Kyra as Joseph (!) in the kids' pageant. But it was also very good for me to be where I was.  Afterward, someone mentioned how glad she was that I was there, especially observing that Shout to the Lord just hadn't been the same at rehearsal with only piano and bass. I had to agree with some of the attendees who mentioned that it was just what they needed, because it was just what I needed, too.

Then I got home, to discover that someone had left chocolate where Potter could get it, on the coffee table.  While it isn't good for him, it wouldn't have been any big deal, except that he also knocked off the glass centerpiece full of potpourri.  I went ahead and cleaned it up before anyone got home, and am just glad he didn't get cut on the glass.  But oh, did he know he was in trouble.  He didn't even come out of his kennel to greet me when I came in.

Probably the most frustrating thing was realizing late last night that I still hadn't put my wedding ring back on.  It's a new band that Teri bought me last year, much more weighty and nice than either of the bands I'd previously worn.  Well, after searching both pair of pants I wore yesterday and the two most likely places it could have fallen out of my pocket (my car and Teri's recliner), it's still missing.    :(

This morning there was something else, that made me think, "Okay, that's it, I need to write about all this now and get beyond it."  And now I can't even remember what that was.  I don't know whether to be grateful that it was so trivial or worried that it isn't and that it'll come crashing back into me later.

I must remind myself that none of these annoyances is any big deal compared to a) what we've already been through this season or b) the many blessings in our lives that outweigh them all.