My Conflicting Relationship With Ghosts

Since I'm currently on a BuzzFeed Unsolved kick I'm gonna talk about ghosts. (To give you a preview of this post, I love this show because ghosts and murder and mystery, but I don't watch the ghost Unsolved episodes unless I'm in a public space and not at home, otherwise I get too paranoid and freaked out).

So here's the 411: I love ghost stories. I grew up in a town that is HELLA haunted. I'm talking little ghost girls pulling pony tails of the waitresses in a local restaurant, my friend having a stuffed animal thrown at her in the toy shop, and the tapping sound coming from the attic of the flower shop. It is a spook spook place, and I highly recommend taking a ghost tour there. I also love the show "A Haunting" because of the reenactments of the tales. Sure they are way overdone and dramatized, but I get pulled in every time.

But, I recall one time when I was watching the show and my sister snuck in behind me and scared the living shit out of me. Because here's the deal: I am terrified of ghosts. When I ate at the local restaurant mentioned I hated going to the bathroom and would rush through the process without looking in the mirror incase the little girl showed up. I felt antsy when wandering the toy shop alone. And, as much as I wanted to hear the little boy tapping or catch a ghost in a photograph, I knew I'd pee my pants if I did. 

As a kid I rarely went into the basement alone, and to this day I don't sleep well at a friends house because it is well known to be haunted. Ghosts are terrifying. I wish I was clairvoyant, and maybe then I'd be a little more used to ghosts and even get to spot one. However, I am not. I am just a wuss who secretly wants to meet a ghost.

The closest I've gotten is at the friend's house I mentioned. It was actually the night I met Duffy. Three of us had retreated back to her house and discussed the evening. I was starting to doze off, my back was to her bedroom door, when I felt the distinct sensation of someone watching me. I knew no one was behind me, but the hairs on the back of my neck prickled up and I was afraid to mention it or turn around to check. It is probably the closest I will ever get to meeting a ghost.

I do know that when I move into a house I am getting it inspected for ghosts. Even if it's a new house. Even if I build it. Gotta make sure there are no portals to hell in it, or burial grounds near by. Ghost inspections, it's a thing. 

I almost went on a ghost investigation in my hometown when it was offered. I didn't go because I was a teenager and knew I'd be a scared mess the entire time. And thank god I didn't, word around town is the investigation was cut short because of the ~activity~ of the ghost got dangerous. DUN DUN DUN! 

Still want to know all the details, but you know. You get what you get.

Maybe one day I'll go back to those old haunts (pun intended) and try to say hi to the ghosts, they're supposed to be friendly. Maybe I'll go sit on the stairs with the school girls, or say hi to the boy who died of tuberculosis. Or, I'll go see the woman in the mayors house who apparently checks people's pulses when they sleep. NO! I should go visit the cat ghost who lives in that house! Just as long as I don't run into any demons or other hellish creatures that will possess me and follow me home. That'd be great.

One of Those Days

Do you have a favorite day, one that you hope to never forget? Is it your wedding, the birth of a child, the day you got the job, or something greater? I have one, and it's fairly simple.

To begin, it was a Monday in August. I had a summer bucket list that hadn't been accomplished very well. However, the summer wasn't over yet. It had been a pretty regular day, I went to the gym in the morning, then dedicated the day to hanging out with my boyfriend, Duffy. I was trying to stay awake (I love taking naps after early morning work outs) and to tucker myself out so I could go to bed early because I had to go to work at 6am for the first time. To find something to do we checked the summer bucket list and saw Hubers on the list.

Hubers Orchard and Winery is a local place, just about 40 minutes away. It's a popular spot for kids as it has a small petting zoo, occasional pony rides, and an ice cream shop. Not to mention the farm produces pumpkins in October and fruits to pick in the other seasons. I have only been there a handful of times in my life, and as an adult I saw it as crowded and boring. But, Duffy and I had just turned 21 and decided we should go do a wine tasting.

We climbed in the car, excited for our mini road trip, and headed up to Indiana. There are technically two Huber's farms, one for the winery and other attractions, the other for picking food and shopping at the store. We pulled up to the one with the booze and made our way upstairs to begin our first wine tasting.

Let it be noted that I take 20 years to drink a single glass of wine. Especially at dinner with Duffy, because I usually talk non stop and occasionally take bites and sips. So, we paid for one tasting and shared the wine so he could take his giant gulps to finish the glass. The wine was good, and we loved the guy serving us. He was an older gentleman who told us about how much he loved St. George, Florida when he noticed my shirt. We could've sworn he was gay until he pulled up a FaceTime of his wife removing her eye patches after getting surgery. However, neither of them could figure out how to hang up on FaceTime and he ended up just turning his entire phone off.

We finished the last glass and snacked on the crackers and chocolate. We wandered the shop, looking at knick-knacks and wine tools before heading back downstairs. I was a little tipsy, he was fine. We each purchased a bottle of wine, mine sweet that went good with chocolate, and his a classic white wine. We put them in the car and decided we deserved a cup of ice cream from the shop.

As we entered the ice cream shop we noticed several groups of older people hanging around. It was this moment that I realized how quiet the place was, there was hardly a kid in sight. We ate ice cream and purchased from fruit from a different shop.

The fun really began when we went to the other farm to play on the playground. We swung on the swings, and laughed endlessly as we went down the slide that was bumpy. It was childish, but grand. When we finished the slide we noticed a basketball court and raced each other to the ball. I am horrible at most sports, but I did my best.

Duffy suggested a game of "Horse" which I failed miserably. The trick with horse is to make shots from impossible spots so other players can't make it. But I can only make shots from close distances, and Duffy with his long legs and experience could make those shots in his sleep. But, we still ran around the court, making shots, commenting on how lovely the nearby pond was, enjoying this beautiful summer day.

Duffy's favorite thing about Huber's is the biscuits at the restaurant. So, we put in an order for biscuts and fried zucchini. It was cool inside as we waited for our food. We watched the teenagers working the restaurant and wondered if they were locals and if the job was miserable. We took the food to-go and found a swing near the garden. It was shaded and the breeze felt good as we gorged on the hot, fried food.

This was the moment for me. The moment I refer to when thinking of the perfect day. The wind was blowing, we swung gently, my belly was full of comfort food, and I leaned on Duffy's shoulder. He has the best shoulder to rest on. Huber's garden mixed with the perfectly blue sky made for a grand view.

It was the best day because it was simple. All it took was wine, food, a small adventure, and the greatest guy in the world.

You make every day the best day ever, Duffy. Here's to many more!

(I don't have the pictures from this day saved, so here are some replacement images until Duffy sends me pics)

This is me meeting a Lil' Sebastian impersonator and it was also a really great moment in my life.

And since this is an appreciation post about Duffy here's an image of him (look at them long legs) exercising with my sister's dog, Manny. They're pals. He's pals with most dogs.

UPDATE: We could not find any pictures from that magical day, so enjoy these photos forever!