Things are pretty muddy, out there in the yard.
I’ve been working in the yard quite a bit, trying to get things in shape before the blazing summer temperatures make it be uncomfortable to spend too much time outdoors. And I’ve had to work around the rain, which has been unusually heavy and constant.
I got a big, red, itchy bite in the crook of my elbow a week or so ago. It didn’t look like what a mosquito bite usually looks like on me. Some other sort of biting bug, I suppose. Then, a few days later, I got another, bigger, itchier bite behind my knee. Really bigger and insanely more itchy. Then I went to Target and bought a new can of insect repellent.
Prescriptions and over the counter medicines fill my medicine cabinet.
And, I looked for something in my arsenal of medications that would allay the itch.
I had some prescription creams (two of each) for previous bites of unknown insects. But they were antibiotic things and not itch-related. Nor itch-helpful.
I checked through the medicine cabinet, looking for drug store-type help.
Those three white lids, all in a row? All Cortizone-10, which worked. As an afterthought, I checked the expiration dates on them. June 2014, June, 2018, and April 2019.
I thought maybe I should look at everything else in there.
That small bottle of Tylenol, lying sideways on that little metal shelf? August, 2017.
The box of Mucinex? October, 2019. A few months left for me to catch a cold, or something similar.
The two boxes of Imodium? March and May 2019. And I’d just as soon NOT need it.
Ayr saline nasal mist? April, 2018.
Kleenex hand sanitizer? June 2014.
Artificial tears? December, 2019. There’ll be help if my eyes are dry between now and New Year’s Eve.
BUMP Family Friendly Nasal spray? The container says, “BB 8/17.” I’m guessing that means “best by.” So, early 2019? Not so much.
The large Tylenol bottle? May, 2022!
Over-the-counter Iron pills? August 2020.
Nasal spray? March 2020.
Pepto Bismol tablets? I just don’t know. The only information actually on the box is “SE 20(L) 82774354K2” and “SE 20(L) 83024354KO.” I have no idea what that might mean.
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- Even though it SAYS “EXP,” which I am assuming meant “Expires On,” there is not any date imprinted on the box. And those numbers on the edge of the other side of the box do not seem to be dates, either.
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- Here is the new, less-outdated-medicine chest. The top shelf has dental floss and dental cleaning things. I checked, and they do not have expiration dates.
And the most astonishing? ALCOHOL! Alcohol goes bad? Or, I guess, expires? REALLY. My alcohol’s expiration date? November 2013. Yes, my alcohol expired five-and-a-half years ago. And it was a great big bottle, too.
The website Needy Meds/be medwise gives information about disposing of outdated medications. I don’t have kitty litter or coffee grounds, but I do have dirt. And plastic zip-top bags. I want to be a good decision-maker and citizen.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6:34 (The Message Translation)
Last week, while I was outside doing some yard work, I saw this at the front corner of the house. I was several feet away, and thought at first that it was some trash that had been blown around and gotten stuck on the brick. When I got closer, for a minute or so, I couldn’t figure out what it was. I stayed still and stared. It stayed still, too. It’s a lizard shedding it’s skin.
We have at least two anoles living here. I often see (one at a time, usually) one around the potting bench. Several weeks ago, Peter and I were outside, near this spot, when we saw two of them, peeking out of a vent at the bottom of the house. They were quiet and still. This lizard would have darted away from me, at any other time. But, while molting, they stay put until they’ve got their new skin.
He looks like he’s wrapped in tissue paper, with the gift of a new skin. The old skin, I suppose, has reached its expiration date.