Now if I were a planner, I’d have all my remaining posts on our vacation written, proofed, revised and scheduled. But “Planner” is not my middle name. My middle name doesn’t even begin with P.

A more disciplined person than myself would have used this day–oh, happy day off work–to at least write up and scheduled those posts. And no one would be the wiser. But “Discipline” is also not my middle name, nor does my middle name begin with D.

No, this happened instead:

I wear hearing aids. Fancy ones with little soft plastic detachable domes that sit in the ear. Yesterday at work, I pulled out my left hearing aid and saw that the dome was gone. I searched the floor, thinking it had fallen off. Nothing. Not worried because I have plenty of these parts at home. I go on with my day. Go to the gym to walk/run the treadmill while listening to an audiobook with my earbuds. Go home. Have dinner, a glass (or two) of wine. My left ear starts to itch and it feels like I got a chunk of wax in there. Later I try to coax out the wax with … you guessed it … a Q-tip. Nothing. Then my ear starts to ache. Too late I realize that the dome was stuck in my ear. I tried some ear drops to see if lubricating it would allow it to slip out. Of course, not. It’s too big. I tried flushing with water. I went to bed in a panic because, of course, it was already past midnight and you know, there’s a hurricane coming. I eventually fell asleep but the earache got worse. First thing this morning I called my doctor’s office. Forty-five minutes later I was there. Ten minutes later the nurse practitioner pulled out the dome with a pair of tweezers. Fortunately I hadn’t done any harm to my ear canal or ear drum, although I have to use prescription ear drops and avoid wearing my hearing aids for a few days. Whew! Although I do need them, I don’t like wearing my hearing aids and usually don’t wear them unless I’m going to work or driving (public safety … need to hear those sirens).

The best part of the story is it gave me an opportunity to get some cash, fill up the gas tank, and buy some more water before the last minute shopping mobs clog the streets. Oh, and I tried to put diesel gas into my Prius. Just grabbed the wrong hose but it took me awhile to figure it out. Sometimes I feel (and act) like such a flake.

Now, you should have read that “there’s a hurricane coming.” Yeah, Michael–that hurricane (https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/10/09/noose-tightens-florida-expect-hurricane-michael-hit-category-3-tonight-florida-tallahassee/1574886002/)

See the light purple? I’m in there.

Okay, so there’s a hurricane coming and I haven’t any blog posts scheduled (except now this one) and I’ll be falling off the radar for awhile … not literally I hope.

I expect power outrages, of course, but fingers and toes are crossed that we all get through this safely. We’ve had plenty of notice and even some practice with Hurricane Hermine in 2016. Since we don’t live on the coast (we’re about 20-30 miles inland), we are not being evacuated. We will be riding out the storm as they say, but it’ll be bumpy.

So think of us over the next few days. I know I have some good friends out there who have weathered events like this (pun intended) and lived to tell the tale. I won’t pretend to be fearless. Hurricane Hermine made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, and that was scary. Michael intends to be a Category 3.

I suspect that before the end of the day, we’ll all be huddled in the bedroom closet with Junior.