Pickles & Dimes

Today I came very close to working through my lunch hour again, but I finally decided that my mental health was more important than killing myself to meet unrealistic deadlines so coworkers can assume that’s the norm and wait until the eleventh hour to dump stuff on me.

So I grabbed my lunch and headed to a nearby park, and saw it had flooded due to last night’s rain. Water was encroaching on the tennis courts and the playground, and the wooden remnants of the ice arena were poking through the brown murky water like abandoned shipwrecks. Several female mallards rested on the arena boards, cheering on their male counterparts, who swam circles around a lone white egret in the middle.

A city pickup slowly cruised through the park, the employees driving off the regular path because it was underwater. As they approached the nature-made pond, the egret took flight, skimming majestically only a few inches above the water to settle in another spot 30 feet away.

I had 10 minutes left of my lunch and a packet of crackers in my hand. I got out of the car, took off my sandals, cuffed my pants and started squishily high-stepping my way toward the birds.

“Hi, birds!” I called out cheerily, complete with an over-exuberant arm wave.

I got to the edge of pond nearest to the four males and tossed a few cracker bits in the water. The ducks took one look and retreated frantically, squawking loudly and leaving little zip lines in their leg-churning wake. Their commotion startled the egret, which quickly flew off to land at the farthest end of the pond, well away from my squishy trespassing.

“Oh well,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and starting my wet retreat to my car (while trying not to wonder what kind of contaminants the water held).

So, even though my pants came uncuffed and got totally soaked, it was worth it.