Please, Someone Find That Switch!

Somewhere, in or near each of us, is a switch that makes things happen.  Some days it is "on" and some days it is "off."  You know the one -- some days it turns all the traffic lights red or green the moment you drive up, depending on whether you are having a good or bad day.  Some days it gets you a parking spot up close to the front at every single place you stop, or it lets you drive in to the parking lot right behind the guy that takes the last parking spot each and every time.

The Switch is neither good nor bad, it just is. 

Apparently my switch was turned on today.  At first, the switch was on the positive side.  I spent the large part of the morning  walking to the store to buy make up.  The traffic was light enough that we crossed the street each time with ease.  (This fact is so unusual that random passers-by were commenting on it as we returned home.)  The makeup was on sale (I didn't know that), and I had a coupon (I did know that), so here I thought I was having a good day.  Toddler and I even stopped for a snack to take home with us.

After nap time, though, my switch apparently shifted to the negative side.  I went outside with Toddler to play.  I had this brilliant idea to blow up the swimming pool and let him splash around, since I understand bad storms are coming soon and we might be rained in again.  I had this absolutely brilliant idea that I would use the new air pump DH got for Christmas to blow up the pool.  No more would I spend hours by the kitchen table squeezing the little spout until my fingers hurt and blowing until I saw stars.  No, I would use the air pump and have that pool blown up in nothing flat.

Then, I tried it.  Hmm.  The air didn't go in.

Oh, wait.  That's right.  You have to squeeze the nozzle to open the valve.  But wait.  Isn't this pointy thing on the air pump supposed to poke right through the valve?  Um, yeah.  It didn't work.  So there I was, sitting on the front stoop, holding this little pointy plastic funnel thing inside the little plastic nozzle while simultaneously squeezing the nozzle until my fingers hurt.

I think about 10 breaths of air made it into the entire pool.  I mean, I couldn't hardly see the thing move.  At least when I was blowing it up with my own lung power, I could see the air cells expanding ... or maybe that was the hypoxia.  Maybe I just thought I saw them expanding.  Maybe I've never succeeded in blowing up anything at all except a little oatmeal in the microwave.

Either way, the wind picked up, and the sky got a little cloudy, so I figured the day would get cloudier and cloudier until it finally rained.  So, I went inside to grab a small bag and decided to pull some weeds with Toddler's enthusiastic help.  I come out with the bag, and the sun is shining again.  I sat down to play with the pool again, and the sun mysteriously ducked behind a non-existant cloud.  Once again, I changed my mind and went to pull weeds.  I sat down in the grass and pulled weeds while the sun beat down on me the entire time.  When the bag was full, I stood up, took it to the bin, and sat down in the warmth to continue to fight with the pool ... only to watch the sunlight fade again.

By then, Toddle spared me any further back and forth by announcing that he wanted to go inside.  (Of course, the minute I sat down in the kitchen, the sun was back....)

I am telling you, someone really needs to find that switch that affects the world around us so we can master it instead of being so ridiculously at its mercy  Don't you agree?