Just to Balance out the Bitching

My word for last week was 'fortuitous'. In the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, the primary definition of fortuitous is simply 'occurring by chance'; it's only the second definition that has the 'fortunate, lucky' connotation which much of us attach to the word. But that's okay because this is my blog and I say 'fortuitous' means 'happening by a lucky twist of fate that makes you feel all fresh and grapefruity'. Those who wish to challenge my definiton may line up on my right where you may bite me, one by one, in a calm and orderly fashion.

On Monday morning my Mom and I went downtown to the Market to do some fruit-buying, flower-looking, gelato-eating and general happy summer wandering. I parked at the place where you pay the machine for a ticket that goes on your dashboard. You can only park there for an hour, but since we're wandering in the vicinity anyway it's easy enough to feed the machine. As we pulled up, a man walked up, knocked on my window and handed me a ticket paid up for an hour, saying they'd decided to park underground instead. I don't think this has ever happened to me before, and I was appropriately gleeful and grateful. We walked around and bought a few things, then came back to unload and pay for another hour. Just as we got to the machine, there was another man there realizing that he could only park there for an hour and asking where there was a parking garage. I pointed it out, he thanked me and walked away, then walked back and handed me his ticket saying 'this is useless to me now'.

We parked. For TWO HOURS. DOWNTOWN. FOR FREE. Next time maybe I should just lurk buy the machine waiting until people have paid and then saying 'you know, it's kind of inconvenient how you can only park for an hour here, have you seen that incredibly secure and long-term parking garage just down the street?...

Then, Angus was supposed to go golfing with my Mom and Dad on Wednesday, the tee time was booked, and he was invited to go sleep in a tent in his best friend's back yard. I usually stick to honouring the prior committment, but he's missed a fair bit due to goddamned baseball this summer and I knew he really wanted to go on the sleepover. So I called my parents, and my Mom said she was getting a cold and really didn't want to go golfing anyway. Okay, it's not precisely 'lucky' that my Mom got sick, but I'm working a theme here so thbffft.

And yeah, this next one doesn't really have anything to do with chance, just my crappy memory giving me a nice surprise instead of a surprise of the sticky, rotting, spiny and rancid variety. I looked up the details for Eve's camp for the next week to see what I needed to dress her in and send her with and realized that...wait for it..... LUNCH WAS INCLUDED. Cue the appropriate soundtrack.

It's been a great summer. I kissed my daughter's tummy not half an hour ago. Two nights ago I was awake and grumpy at 2 a.m. and my husband was awake and jet-lagged, so we had a bath together. A nice, quiet, conversation-filled, candlelit, g-rated bath (well, we were naked, but g-rated other than that). I am a lucky, lucky woman.

What? Like I can't ever be properly thankful for my goddamned blessings? I will be grateful and sunshiny until you scream for mercy. Stop looking at me like that!