Looking Out the Window

Do you ever have periods when you are so focused on one thing that you manage to ignore other details of life that you would normally pay attention to? When my mom was in the hospital and then the rehab section of a nursing home my primary focus was on her and taking care of things for her.

For several years I have had a collection of animals sitting on the dash of my car. They have been there so long that I no longer look at them that closely. Sometimes they slide around and have to be pushed back into their place in the hollow space reserved for them on the dash.

Last week I noticed that I was getting an extra reflection on my windshield that was bugging me. I thought it was just unusual lighting that day - clouds and low sunlight. Then I noticed it again the next day. Why was that bugging me? I knew it was the reflection of my animals but I couldn't figure out what was unusual about it. Surely the reflection isn't always that bad.

Finally a couple days ago I figured it out. Fetch, the Beanie Baby dog was out of his normal spot and that's why his reflection was making me crazy. He was out of the hollow spot and up near my steering wheel. How did he get there? Did he slide that far? Finally I looked at the animals more closely. And I let out a laugh. All the animals had been turned around to enjoy the view! Normally they face me. So instead of looking at little animal faces I was getting my own view of little animal hineys.

I am usually pretty good at keeping my car locked. Walter didn't do it so I don't know for sure who turned the animals around. Nothing was missing from the car. I only know it had to be someone who had a sense of humor and probably thought the animals were tired of looking at me and would prefer to see where they were going. Whoever did it, thanks for making me laugh. Too bad it took me a couple weeks to figure it out!