My Christmas day had come and gone
As good as you could get;
I woke to silent darkness,
But I wasn’t moving yet!
I’d wait till the alarm went off
And get a duvet fix,
I wasn’t starting Boxing Day
Till after half past six.
The world was frozen, stark and clear
All inky black and white;
It could be worse, the forecasters
Had warned of snow last night.
The small dog chased her steaming breath
Beneath the frosty trees,
I huddled in the icy wind
That whistled round my knees.
Back home the heating had gone off
Without the least excuse,
The dog decided she’d be sick…
It might have been a ruse;
She doesn’t like the back door shut
Needs access hail or shine,
And throwing up would put the door
In her control, not mine.
She’s sitting on the doorstep
With her head outside the door.
The days unfold, you never know
What Fate may have in store.
Quite soon I find the sofa
Has become a small-dog den,
She looks at me pathetically…
And then throws up again.
I freeze and think of vet bills
‘Cause I have to get her well;
She probably needs cuddles,
So I figure what the hell,
We’ll have a lazy afternoon
And just curl up together,
There’s nothing wrong with hot dog hugs
In warm or winter weather.
I freeze at the computer screen
And launch on the attack,
The keyboard rattles busily…
Until it freezes back.
Eight hundred words have disappeared…
There is no saving grace
When ‘safe mode’ wipes the files
And they are gone without a trace.
But… time for work. I scrape the car;
The frost is cold and thick,
My fingers turn to indigo
Although I’m scraping quick.
A good five miles of empty road
Lies silently ahead…
And two miles in my little car
Gives up and goes for dead.
The power’s gone, she’s all puffed out,
And just won’t move at all.
I plead and coax… reluctantly
She manages a crawl.
My son is waiting patiently
For breakfast to arrive;
The little car takes one last heave,
Collapsing on his drive.
She’ll have to stay there now, of course,
The garages are shut,
And any travelling will be
By taxi or on foot…
And every taxi into work
Takes half my daily rate.
A duff PC, a poorly dog,
A dead car… f***ing great!
‘These things are sent to try us’
So the ancient sayings tell,
Though given half a chance I would
Consign ‘these things’ to Hell.
But as I can’t, I’ll simply shrug
And raise a festive glass;
I’ll cock a snook at destiny
And say, ‘This too shall pass.’*
*(Yes, I know there was a better rhyme for the end….)
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
I do hope Ani is feeling better – what did she eat that she shouldn’t have? Imp. The Czechs have word for what happened to you: smatek. It literally means confusions but is a word for those irritating little curve balls that life throws you. You’ve definitely had your share!
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I don’t think she has eaten anything she shouldn’t… which, in itself, is unusual 🙂 ‘Balls’ seems to be an apt word to apply to the day so far… but I am trying to be relatively calm about the whole affair 😉 Sofa, dog and film, I think….
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Sounds like a good plan for a zmatek-filled day.
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Oh bless, Sue – sounds bloody ‘orrible, but you have done a damn good job of creating a poem from it. Poor little Ani. Poor you too. Hugs all round. xxx
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It’ll sort itself out one way or another 🙂 xxx
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Reblogged this on So, I Read This Book Today and commented:
I have had so many days like this, and Sue writes so well I just had to share. If you haven’t checked out Sue’s site yet, why not? 🙂
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What a day. Sometimes, the best way to get over a day of debacle like you have explained is to write about it. I know it must have been frustrating, but after the fact, it makes a good story.
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I have abandoned the dsy in favour of the sofa with the dog 🙂
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Hope all are doing better. xo
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Not yet, but tomorrow is a new day 🙂 xx
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Oh no! Poor Ani.
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She’s sleeping now 🙂
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Phew!
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I guess saying “happy Boxing Day” would be inappropriate?
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Just pass the painkillers… dodgy spines and pushing cars apparently don’t mix. Who knew?
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Oh, poor you! Hope Ani feels better soon and everything else gets sorted easily! After such a perfect day yesterday 😞
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Ah well, it is the contrast that allows us to se perfection after all 🙂 Ani is doing better this evening.
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LOL to the last bit. That sucks, Sue. So sorry you had to deal with that, all in one day. I’ve decided today to just take it easy for the most part. 🙂
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Don’t blame you Eilis! I’m rather being bliged to now too!
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Hope Ani is coming back to her bouncy self ~ give her a snuggle from Stan!
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She seems to be feeling better tonight 🙂
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Oh that’s good. Delighted to hear it. Hopefully, a good night’s sleep will do the trick. Fingers x
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I hope so too, Jean. Hate seeing her like this x
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Oh, I know. They are even more pathetic than children. It’s like their eyes do all the talking.
Try not to fret as she’ll pick that up entirely as well! I know it’s easier said than done!
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She’ll probably be fine by morning…
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Hope she is!
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You sleep about as much as I do, Jean.
She seems more herself this morning.. the tennis balls are already out.
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That’s great news. I’m delighted.
(Remember I take siestas ~ Italian-style!)
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She doesn’t fancy the howling gale though… 🙂
(May have to indulge when I can!)
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Sorry to hear about your troubles, but you have an admirable attitude. 🙂
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Not a lot else I can do 🙂
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Owww.. too many “oh s#$t” moments… hope it’s better today…
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So do I, Darcy!
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Reblogged this on Anita & Jaye Dawes and commented:
Hope Ani is feeling better, but the poem was amazing!
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Oh dear! Catastrophie ( or should that be dogtastrophie). Such is life. By the way. What was the name of the book you wnted me to read and review?
Have a good weekend.
Evelyn
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Hi Evelyn,
I am making it up to Ani with roast chicken, so I think she’ll be fine. 🙂
I can’t actually remember which book we were talking about now… isn’t that awful!
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Wonderful wonderful poem Sue, love it! But sincerely hope it was all fiction and not a word of truth!
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Every word true, Ali… and the car still dead five miles away… sighs…
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Lovely poetry Sue. You have the right attitude, stuff the technology going wrong but make sure the dog is cared for. I hope Ani is OK, does she sneak things into her mouth you don’t see? like ripened carcase of the hedgerow or other discards dropped by birds etc. When out hunting, (walking) I often have to shove my hand into Charlie’s mouth to release unmentionables, the first I am aware of them is when she walks with determination and a closed mouth.
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No, she doesn’t eat things outside as a rule…too busy and excited exploring! Every day is as if it is the first day ever … as if she has never seen the world before 🙂
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