Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
I’m all about DIY projects. Fixing cracks in the carport.Mowing the yard.Making a u shape extention to my driveway.During the Covid lockdown, my family had a paint party and we painted; then another friend helped me install cabinets in my kitchen.All the flooring in my house, I’ve replaced.
From trimming trees to pressure washing the house, sometimes you just gotta do it.
On Easter Sunday they went to church, after church Chet and Bell came back over. He had just finished changing clothes when Chet rang the bell. When he opened the door, Chet and Bell both raised their Easter egg baskets and yelled, “where’s the eggs?”
Oscar let them in and was more than confused. Esther walked in through the back door and kissed him on the cheek. Your basket is on the porch.
“My basket?”
“I have hidden two dozen eggs on the porch and in the back yard. There is one prize egg.”
Oscar’s face lit up like a Christmas tree; “you didn’t?”
She wiggled, “I did.”
He grabbed her and hugged her up. They all marched to the back porch singing Here Comes Peter Cottontail. Not only had Esther hid eggs, she had made a picnic of egg salad sandwiches, chips, cupcakes, water, and lemonade.
She sat on the steps and laughed as the three friends hunted for the hidden eggs. Esther had to direct them to find the last four.
They all sat at the table to eat. “Where is the fun in this for you dear?” Oscar asked.
“I had much rather hide them and watch you all try to find them as I had to hunt them.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to hide them?”
“I‘m positive.”
“You know this is the first Easter I remember in years that it has been warm enough to sit outside and eat.” Bell commented.
“That’s true,” Chet smiled. “Easter’s are usually cold and rainy.”
Oscar raised his glass for a toast. “Here’s to a perfect Easter.”
Esther giggled, “so who got the prize egg?”
They all started picking through their eggs looking for it.
“Is this it?” Chet asked. He held up a plastic metallic blue egg. It sparkled and shined in the sun.
“Open it and see.”
He did and inside was two movie tickets. “Cool.”
Bell laughed, “we haven’t been to the movies in years.”
“Well now it’s time to go.” Esther smiled.
As they wrapped up the evening, Esther gave Chet and Bell a giant Easter egg full of jelly beans.
They all said their good byes.
Oscar laid on the couch and open his arms for Esther. “Thank you.”
She smiled as she cuddled closer. “You are most welcome. Will you tell me when you get tired of my childish behavior?”
“Why would I get tired of it?” He kissed the top of her head.
“Sometimes I think I am trying to relive my childhood. Don’t get me wrong, my grandparents did a great job raising me. But there is so much that I didn’t get to do. I hope you don’t think that I am one giant child.”
“I never thought that at all.” He laced his fingers through hers. “Perhaps we can relive it together. I have had more fun since I’ve met you than I’ve had in my life time.”
She smiled, “I know that we will have issues that we don’t see eye to eye over. That’s just life. And I hate to think what our first real fight is going to look like.”
He cut her off, “who says we have to have a real fight?”
You lookin’ at me?! You’re here to buy milk or cheese. I’m looking at you!
*This little statue was sitting over the dairy case at a grocery I was in. I got so tickled at the expression on its face that I had to take a picture. I’m sure everyone around me thought I was nuts. You had to look up to see it. Honestly, how many people stop to look up?
Oscar almost dropped his keys as his phone chimed in his pocket. It was Esther. “Hi.”
“Well hello there.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Sounds like I caught you at a bad time.”
He chuckled, “it’s okay.”
“What kind of plans do you have tonight?”
“I was hoping dinner with you was on the menu.”
“Before you come over, put on an old work shirt.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”
“See you when you get here.”
“Love you too.”
She giggled, “you know I do.” Hanging up the phone.
His curiosity was peaked beyond measure. What did she have up her sleeve? He did as she asked changing clothes before he went over to her house. She was all giggles when he opened the door and he received a big ole hug.
“What did I do to deserve that?” He smiled.
“Nothing,” she wiggled and walked toward the kitchen. “Have you tried tuna since you’ve been sick?”
“Not really.”
“I made up a tuna steak for dinner with a salad and chive mashed potatoes.”
“God it sounds good.”
“I just hope it doesn’t hurt you.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “So why did you want me to change clothes?”
She giggled, “oh you have to wait until after dinner.”
“Tease,” he smiled.
“Yeah, I’ve been called that before.”
Dinner was wonderful. He didn’t eat much of the salad but tore into the tuna. “This is amazing.” He sat back in the chair patting his stomach.
“Well, if it doesn’t hurt you, we shall have to have it again. Have you tried fish tacos?” He raised an eyebrow. She giggled, “I’ll take that as a no. We had some tuna left. If you feel up to it, we can try those tomorrow.”
They cleaned up the kitchen. As she draped her dishcloth over the sink, she asked, “so are you ready to get messy?”
He raised an eyebrow, “that depends.”
She covered her kitchen table with two huge bath sheets. Then put a bowl with eggs in it on the table.
He gasped, “are we going to dye Easter eggs?”
“Yelp,” she danced around and giggled.
She had boiled two dozen eggs. There was a knock at her door. Oscar was surprised but not shocked when Chet and Bell came in. They had brought another dozen of eggs and a different dye kit from the one Esther had.
They spent hours dyeing eggs, laughing and just having a good time.
Oscar smiled, “you know I don’t remember the last time I’ve done this.”
“We do this every year at the nursing home. The seniors just love it.” Bell commented.
“Easter is my favorite holiday.” Esther smiled. “I love bunny rabbits. It has to be that Easter means spring. And once I became a Christian, I loved Easter even more because of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.”
“How long have you been a Christian?” Bell asked.
“Not long, I’m still a baby.” She thought for a moment, “five or six years. I got baptized on the Sunday after my birthday that year.”
“I remember you telling me the church was a sea of black uniforms.” Oscar added.
“It was.” She smiled. “The only other time I had ever saw so many officers in one place was at a funeral. It made me feel so proud to know that my brothers and sisters were there supporting me during this life changing moment.” She got a tub of mixed sorbet out of the freezer as Oscar got the bowls. “It was the hardest yet most uplifting thing I’ve ever done.”
Chet spoke, “you were a cop?” She smiled while serving the sorbet. “For how long?”
“Feels like all of my life.” Bell and Chet just looked at each other. “I know when we first met; I told you I couldn’t talk about what I did before I came to Kentucky again. I still can’t. But there is no harm in me telling you that I have spent many years in law enforcement.”
Oscar was licking his spoon, “if you had it to do all over again, what would you do?”
“I would either do something in forensics or be a medical examiner.”
“Really,” Chet was bewildered and Bell noticed.
“Even though I am married to one, it is a dangerous job. I think if it were my daughter, I’d rather she be unemployed than be a cop.” Bell voiced.
“Like everything else in life, it is a personal choice. I couldn’t do your job. I would be in a constant state of depression. I would get attached to my patience only to have them die. And Oscar’s job, no thanks. I have mad respect for teachers now that I have gotten to know what his life is like. The first smart mouth that called me fat ass would be picking his teeth up off the floor.”
Oscar smiled. “You ain’t all that.”
She just winked at him.
“You know, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around you being a cop.” Oscar put his bowl in the sink.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t connect the dots in my mind.” He wrinkled his brow. “There’s a gun in this house isn’t there?”
Poetry & More 