Gratitudes

It's been thirteen weeks since my last mani/pedi, eleven weeks since my last haircut, ten weeks since I've been inside a market, four weeks since the mostly mini-poodle mutt, Lily, has been groomed, and two weeks since the first of a series of bedbug bites appeared on .my arms, neck, and torso. I've since stripped my bed, vacuumed every inch of both the mattress and box springs, damp mopped the floor, wiped every nook and cranny of my bedroom and generally outdone myself in the cleaning department. This morning I had all of the bedding, (mattress cover, sheets, pillow cases, blanket, bedspread) packed in the trunk of my car ready to go to the local wash and fold laundry. I'd made an appointment for Lily to be tubbed and scrubbed and was happily anticipating a return to a bug-free life. Last night, because the bed was bare, I slept on the chaise in my office, and area which had also undergone a more thorough cleaning than it gets with my usual slovenly practices. The first indication that things might not go as planned was that I woke up with, you guessed it--more bed bug bites. Next the groomer called to say they wouldn't groom her because she'd been exposed to bed bugs. When I took my bundled bedding to the Wash and Fold laundry with the big open side in front, it was closed. A phone call clarified that they would remain closed through the duration of the pandemic. I'd turned the Prius engine off   in the Wash and Fold parking lot and when I turned it back on, all of the warning lights, red, yellow, exclamation marks, flashed on. I called my trusted auto repair shop. No answer. Although the menacing lights demanded otherwise, I drove the half mile home and parked safely in my driveway. I know not to ever ask the universe "what else could go wrong today?" Nevertheless, the sunshiny mood of early morning had turned cloudy and dark. I took a few deep breaths, went inside, and headed to the gratitude jar that sits on my desk. I pulled a few of the still blank strips of paper from the jar and wrote: Health! Family!  Friends! Food! Shelter! Laughter! Washer! Dryer! Cleaning supplies! Hot water! The day ahead! I dropped the papers back into the jar and screwed the lid on tight Best to thwart any possible escape of gratitudes.