Playing Hooky

I'm home today. I've been fighting off some malady since Saturday that seems to come and go and I decided it wasn't doing me any good to keep trying to overcome it while going to work so, here I am, feeling a little guilty because it's been ingrained in me to never, ever  call out sick, unless you're dead, in which case you'd better have the courtesy of phoning in before you keel over. Well, I'm not dead but there have been times these past few days when I didn't feel far from it, so here I am.

I met with a lawyer this week to discuss fighting my case against my former employer.  He was hopeful we had a strong suit that might set a precedent for others to follow.  You know what? I came home and decided the last thing I want to do is fight an Ivy League institution.  Life is too short and there are more worthwhile things to battle, so I'm going to step aside, let them believe they won, and let God sort it out.  In God's grand scheme of things: What do I care?

Like the day I handed over my beautiful icon from Gargano, I don't think it's really me who made that decision.  All of the best that I am comes not from myself but from the One I hope finds a place to dwell within.  What's a few thousand dollars as compared to suffering scorn, derision and death on a cross?

Anyway, my employees are getting a little too spoiled by me, so it will be good for them to imagine what life was like without me and then maybe count their blessings.

Now that I have a job in what could be called "the country", I have been thinking a lot about the days when my oldest and I were so enmeshed in the horse world.  I cannot see a dirt trail in the woods without wondering if it's a bridle path.  There was nothing like the Fall for riding cross-country.  The gorgeous color of the leaves on the trees and underfoot provided a bucolic setting that was unmatched at any other time of the year.  There are times when I miss those days so much, it aches to think about them.  I saw the four seasons and God's creation in a way few people are afforded, on a daily basis.  The problem was that all of it revolved not around God, but around one of His most noble creatures.  The challenge was to appreciate the horse's unrivaled beauty without making him an idol.   Since I didn't manage  that very well, it was best to just move on, so I did.

Have a blessed day.