Where did it go?

I'm talking about yesterday.  Seriously, where did it go?

It didn't seem like it was moving at a rapid rate, yet, before I knew it it was almost midnight and I was sitting at my computer, exhausted.  I was trying to be creative with images of marigolds, but kept making mistakes, so I said to nobody in particular...."I think I'm too tired to be doing this, I should probably go to bed."

And, so I did.  Unfortunately by now I'm too exhausted to fall asleep.

I look back over the day's events.  It was not that I was particularly busy, or physical, sure I got ready for Bible study, and I kind of spruced up my outdoor seating areas, because I knew we would want to sit outdoors for that, but this morning I can't think of one other single thing that could have made me sooo exhausted.

Then, I remembered it was not something physical that made me tired.  (And, yes, I'm going to grumble a little here)...I have to get this off my chest so I can move on.

There is a neighbor who has a little 'yappy' dog.  And every time somebody, anybody walks past this neighbor's house this dog goes ballistic.  Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap.

See how annoying that is, now multiply that by many times a day.  Now, during the day there are times I can kind of block it out, because I'm concentrating on a chore, but, when the day winds down, and I simply want to relax with some television time...there it is......

Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, etc, etc, etc.

It's in the mid-80's, I enjoy having my house open with a lovely 'almost summer', breeze flowing through my bay window.  It's evening, families are walking with children and dogs.  They should, most of the time the weather is crappy, and we try to take advantage of every outdoor minute with which we are blessed.  This is a wonderful time of year.

Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, etc, etc, etc.

I'm trying to stay calm.  Okay, I know there are other rooms in my house where I could enjoy my evening television where the dog's yapping will not be as loud and annoying...and I certainly could do that...and in the end I probably will.  But, for the moment (for me) that's not the point.

I've taught Zorro it is not appropriate to be annoying out of doors, and will not allow him to bark unnecessarily.  He will bound along the fence with great curiosity, but does not bark.

....and so the day's yapping begins, it is 8:20 AM.  I'm in my office...mid point in my house...windows open....yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap.


When he is outside in he backyard, and barks to come in, I get to the door as quickly as possible to bring him in because I don't want him to be an annoyance to my neighbors, that is simply being courteous.  My next door neighbor is less that 20 feet away, I owe it to them to have peace and quiet.  When Zorro makes his last run for the day I stand on the stoop, or just inside the door so when he's done there is no need for barking.  I think my neighbor with the yapping dog owes us the same respect.

Sigh.

Yes, I know, I could, (like Birdlady) make a big stink over this, make neighbors choose sides, get everybody up in arms.  Instead, I called my sister, and complained. Dang that felt good.  Eventually (as dusk fell), the yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yapping stopped.  Sweet relief.

So, here's the thing.  Remember how when I forgave Birdlady for breaking my heart, and made amends I felt so much better.  I think I'm going to have to (eventually) 'letthisgo'.  Frankly, the lovely days of late spring, summer and early fall are few, this annoyance is temporary as well.  I am going to come to grips with this...in time...in due time...I swear I will.

However, there are times I would like to walk to the neighbor's house, and yank out the yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yapping dog's voice box.

So, in retrospect, I can see my exhaustion yesterday was not physical in nature.  It was however, an emotionally, mentally, exasperatingly, difficult day.

...and here we go again...8:45....yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap. 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!