Bear Bait

Shadia is the lovely lady who comes to our house once a week to do the cleaning we're too lazy busy to do ourselves.

I love her. Well, I did untill this morning.

She's like having a mom around. She tells me I'm ordering too many fruits and vegetables from the organic delivery people. She calls to make sure we finished the laundry she started. She worries I don't have a regular job.

Today she might have crossed a boundary.

We were talking about this and that, as we do ... the poisoning of the Russian spy, what a "stupid asshole" (her words) W is, her 12 year-old daughter's woes in school, the cats' dislike of the vacuum cleaner, etc.

All of a sudden she looks at me and gasps. "Oooh, you've got stomach."

I tell her yes, and with my graying beard I'm working on a whole Santa Claus get up. She tells me she doesn't think so.

A little while later I'm getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"I'm off to some meetings and then to my writing workshop."

"Okay darling, bye bye. Don't eat so much."

:: :: ::

I guess it's time to get serious about the running again.