Sometimes We Get Pooped On

My husband likes to care for things - living and nonliving.

He's re-made the backyard and a lot of the front, with beautiful bushes, plants, and flowers that bloom at various times throughout the year. He's taken apart and remade the back deck. He's added a trellis for the trumpet vine and another for the clematis to climb. We've got a bird feeder in the back that gets a lot of business, and the hummingbirds have finally come to their feeder in the front yard. Inside and on the house, he has remodeled the front foyer, front room, kitchen, bathroom, our bedroom, and the spare bedroom and office. He is also a huge proponent of preventative maintenance - he'll check things out BEFORE they break, to clean them and see how they're running. He'll order a part before he needs it. Yes. He's that kind of man. That's his new role, now that he's retired and living in Illinois as my husband.

Born and raised in the Detroit area, he's also a "car guy." He retired for FoMoCo (as he calls Ford) after 28 years of service. So... I now have a vehicle I LOVE. And he's got one he loves, as well. He also takes care of them - oil changes, cleaning the brake dust off the wheels, checking the air pressure and filters, etc. He keeps his clean, and I'm learning from his role modeling how to keep mine clean.

I can only imagine Bob as a teacher. If it was something he loved to do, he'd do it better than any of us. He loves to take care of things, he anticipates problems, and he's a great role model.

A week before he got a new truck this past August, a goldfinch decided to pay a visit to his older truck he was going to trade in. This particular goldfinch (we're convinced it's the same one each time we see it - or see evidence of it) loves to sit on the mirror and look at itself in the window. While doing so, he poops on the mirror.

Bob, ever the man to take care of things, cleaned off the poop each time. 

The new truck was purchased and brought home, and the goldfinch found his spot on the mirror.

Bob decided to move the mirrors in each time he parked in the driveway. It didn't help.

He went online and found out goldfinches like to look at themselves in window reflections. One site suggested he put a picture of a raptor of some sort in the window. So he did. The following photos show the evolution of this particular goldfinch for about five minutes or so as he got closer and closer to that mirror...

Yes. This last one is a photo of the goldfinch looking at his reflection - OR maybe he's looking at the hawk Bob put in the window.

What's my point?

You can do everything in your power, and yet sometimes you'll still get pooped on. There are only so many things in this life we can control. Sometimes, we've just got to wipe off the poop.

If we can't see our kids in school (or even online), we can still send messages of love and hope. If we can't get to a student this year, maybe the next teacher will. We've got to keep trying, yet not beat ourselves up if we can't make progress. Keep trying. One day at a time. We do what we can. Let's be there for each other during this time that many people are getting pooped on. Who has it worse than you? Let's reach out and do what we can do.