July 10, 2024

Score

Technology was a blessing and a curse. I loved having a security system, complete with cameras. And my Apple watch was something I relied on, and it truly made my life easier. Last night, however, the alarm and watch worked in unison to wake me repeatedly through the night.

The camera facing the backyard kept picking up some movement, sending a notification to my watch, which would buzz and wake me. The image was too small to see on my watch, so I got up to look outside and grabbed my phone from my office. Logging into the app, I pulled up the camera footage and saw nothing. So, I went back to bed. Rinse; repeat.

A few weeks ago, a wild animal got into our backyard and damaged two sections of fencing. Since then, I had been on high alert in case it returned. This evening, however, the culprit that kept setting off the alarm was a small spider web blowing around, setting off the motion detector. The camera didn’t understand it was superimposing a small blob on to the background, translating something tiny and close up as something large and far away.

My wife and I had coffee and then she got ready for the day. After she left, I got back to my routine and started off my morning with a long writing session. When I finished, I changed clothes, trying on my new gear from Kuiu, and headed off into the woods for a walk.

The day was overcast, and despite the high humidity, the shade made the weather feel cooler. To replenish the feeding station, I grabbed a gallon sized baggie from a drawer and then headed to my truck, where I filled it with deer corn. I carried it through the woods to the feeding area, where I spread the corn in small piles near the ground blind. From the blind, I grabbed some bird seed and spread it around, too.

While I was at the feeding station, I stopped to check the trail camera that faced the area. To my surprise, there was a lone doe that visited daily to eat at the station. The doe had a plump, round belly and appeared to be pregnant. I wondered if we would have a fifth fawn on the property soon.

After replenishing the food, I headed north along a central trail. When I had walked about forty yards, a deer barked and ran east. I continued along the pathway until I arrived at the creek. The water level in the southern stream was low again. I couldn’t see the northern stream, with all the summer trees and vegetation that had overtaken the area.

It was really nice to spend the morning in the woods. When I was ready to head back to the house, I took an eastern trail that was covered in small red cherries that had fallen from all the wild cherry trees. When I was about halfway home, I came across a medium-sized box turtle. The turtle appeared dusty and its colors had faded. I hoped it would find its way to the water, but then I figured the little amphibian knew exactly what it was doing.

I snapped a few photographs of the turtle and then moved on. When I arrived at a cross trail that led to the feeding area, I expected to encounter a deer or two, but this morning there were none in the area. I continued moving toward the house so I could take a shower and go to work.

This morning, I sported my new Kuiu Tiburon line hoodie. The material was strong but super thin. It featured micro-sized perforations that allowed the heat to escape and the air to enter, all handy when spending time outdoors in the summer. The camouflage pattern was definitely the coolest design on the market. I opted for Kuiu’s Verde pattern and it perfectly matched the forest. I felt thrilled with my purchase.

Work was busy, starting off with a long three-hour meeting that ate up my morning. During lunch, I grabbed my work phone and headed to the Wilson County Library, where I checked out four books: Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays by Mark Twain, Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, and a book about deer.

While I was at the library, my wife sent me the text I had been waiting for: check your email. Oh shit, it was happening. My wife’s final exam grade was finally in. I hurried to check it, finding her results. The page was full of numbers and it took me a while to realize she had passed and done extremely well on her test. School was all but over. This was big; huge.

I picked up some food on the way home, which included a stop at McDonalds for a four-piece chicken nugget pack for the dogs. This was a little tradition I developed with Kilo. On the day I rescued her, we stopped at a McDonalds to get some food for the long drive home. Chicken nuggets sent her a clear message that life was about to get better. To this day, she recognized the words McDonald’s and chicken nuggets, which caused her to wag her tail and go into a frenzy.

My wife called me on FaceTime, asking me what I was doing. I told her I was driving and I could talk to her, promising not to watch my phone. She told me to be safe and hung up on me mid sentence. It was funny. We were so happy and still trying to process what passing her exam meant for us.

When my wife pulled into the drive, I ran out and gave her a huge congratulatory hug and kiss. I told her how proud I was and we talked about the exam, her great score, and what it meant for her upcoming national certification exam. The day was full of good news. I passed the chicken nuggets to my wife so she could hand them out to the dogs so we could include them in the celebration.

In the evening, my wife made an amazing meal, and we sat down together, elated about her approaching and inevitable graduation. After dinner, the whole thing hit me. This wasn’t just the result of a single exam. It was the last test for my wife’s schooling. It was the end of school itself. These past two years encompassed more challenges that either of us had imagined.

Today’s score was an epic win.