Tuesday, 7 PM: I just realized I haven’t posted today. I think I’m still feeling the effects of a five day road trip the week of the Third of July party. If I ever again start talking about “running down to Arkansas” to pick up a family member before the party, somebody please slap some sense into me! My sister tried, but I wouldn’t listen. And the reality is, I would have been too tired to even think about making that trip alone after the party.
Meeting Andrew was great! After spending 24 hours in Doggy Daycare, Boo (a.k.a. Spawn of Satan) was so happy to be home he quit snarling and snapping at Andrew.
How can something so cute be so evil?For the most part. Until he got his second wind. But that was just about the time Andrew was leaving, so no harm done that day. I don’t want to think about the other days. Let’s just focus on the good times.
I still have a few party decorations to take down and pack away, but most of it is done. Unless a couple of hundred xangans and their families decide to come next year, I probably won’t have to buy any pop (
stop laughing, Andrew) for the 2010 party.
My computer has not crashed once today. I think it was possessed yesterday. I spent more time trying to boot it and reboot it than I did online. When I opened a game, it crashed. When I downloaded the latest Windows Service Pack it crashed. Once it finally downloaded the service pack and I tried to install it, it crashed. Pretty much, any time I clicked on anything, it crashed and took a dozen or so tries to reboot. I will be purchasing an external hard drive in the near future.
My mom is reading
The Song of Bernadette. I will never read that book. She may never finish that book. She keeps wondering, “When was this written?” and turning to the front of the book. Then she gets sidetracked by the author’s bio, “A
Jewish man wrote this book about the
Catholic church!!” (zomg) Then she flips to the end and complains because it’s 340 pages long and written in excruciating detail. Then she wonders whether it’s fact or fiction and flips back to the front where the cycle starts all over again. She wanted to read me an excerpt from the preface and I told her she’s never going to finish the darn thing if she doesn’t quit going back to the front of the book. Not my most patient moment, but I had just returned from hiding in the bathroom in order to read the last couple of chapters of the book I’ve been trying to finish for the past four days and I really wasn’t in the mood to hear the names Bernadette or Lourdes yet again.
Mom does seem to be getting a bit better, though. She was out working in the butterfly garden when I got up this morning.
Shot from an upstairs window. She wants to go with me when I go out to run errands. The “conversation loops” haven’t been as frequent in the past couple of days. Three months ago she didn’t have the energy to get dressed and couldn’t retain information for five seconds, so I’m really happy to see this improvement.
If she would just finish that damn book I’d be so much happier! Aw, who am I kidding? As soon as she finishes the book, she’ll start obsessing about something else and it will drive me just as bonkers. Family: Can’t live with them, can’t make them normal. Although, I must confess I don’t really mind her obsession with washing dishes.
Comments (27)
You're making miss Quinton!
That is a really cute picture of Boo.
@nidan - Is Quinton your dog?
Why did this line go through my head at the end of this post?
"He ran into my knife...he ran into my knife TEN times."
Creeeepy!
@Undercover_Librarian - I haven't been THAT frustrated! Not even with the Spawn of Satan!
@saintvi - Brazilian flying gekko!
@saintvi - Lol. I don't think you would. But the line popped through my head, and I thought it was weird, and comment worthy.
@nidan - Ever since we lived in Hawaii and my daughter put her shoes on and we went hiking all day at Sacred Falls and came home to find she'd had a baby gecko in her shoe all that time, I've been off geckos. Such a tiny shoe and a tinier critter, but a humongous stink.
I hope you take a week and just sleep.You must be tuckered out!
@saintvi - Not sure if Gekko was a misnomer, he always looked more scaley and less slimey than other gekkos. (North American Gekkos anyways!)
@Bricker59 - I am very tired. The other night I found my journal, after much searching, under the bed. My entry from the night before made no sense and trailed off at the end. Apparently I fell asleep while writing it. I must have awakened enough at some point to turn off my bedside lamp, but I have no memory of that. I wish I could just sleep for a week, but Mom and Boo would probably get into all kinds of mischief.
Boo is such a cutie. It never occured to me that he wasn't at the party. That was probably a wise decision!
It's funny that you have a bunch of pop left over because I had one girl at my party that was drooling over your diet coke. I just laughed at her because she knows we always do lemonade and iced tea!
The offer stands to send her over to do my dishes! (although not right now, there's maybe three cups and a sheet pan!)
Bless your heart, I so understand the need for rest and reprieve from family! It would be nice to have someone would worry about my dishes!!! It might be nice for a few days!!!
Your updates, are never boring.
I'm so glad to hear your Mummy is doing well!
Boo is AWESOME. So amazingly cute! And hey, if your mom runs out of dirty dishes at your place, send her over... :)
i used to clean house for a lady with a dog that seems eiriely similar to your boo... he hated all strangers after being owned by a sick older woman who spent much time in the hospital. every time she'd be admitted, he'd have to go to someone else's house. hence, by the time they got him, he thought everyone was coming to take him away. she'd lock him in a bedroom while we cleaned...but then came the fateful day when she let him out with us in the backyard... and he jumped up & bit me on my thigh. how'd a dog so little & so elderly jump so high, anyways? and how'd he pinch anything on my 14 year old thighs?
we spent the weekend with j's parents relaxing, and i still got nothing done yesterday form tiredness. i dunno why this is...but anytime away from home seems exausting.
grandmother asked me where the eggs were in the grocery store today. i started to gape at her...then just answered & went on. it's SO nice that your mom is washing dishes...and getting them clean...on the rare occasion that the dishes are washed by my grandmother, i end up having to hide the fact that i am doing them over.
time alone is ok. it's a necessity, not a indulgence. any time that she is engaged an activity where you can keep one eye on her... but be alone..take it. and don't feel guilty for it. it's one good way to maintain your sanity. ;)
I love that pic! She is gonna love our garden.
@trebleclef402 - And I got a picture of her taking that picture. (though, I don't think it came out as good photographically speaking as her picture of Boo did.)
Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget that the book was written by a Jew, or the she brings the cat in for the winter, or that she lived in Corpus, or any number of things that she unwittingly drilled into my head. ;P
But it really wasn't that bad. On the last day it was just starting to grate my nerves, but I probably could've held out for another week.
But all in all, the good FAR outweighs the Boo. ;D
Poor Boo. I hope he has a conversion experience (but not getting knocked off his ass). I hear that that usually includes an attitude adjustment. Too much pop? I have 6 cases in the basement and that should last for a couple weeks. My sons seem to breathe it. Or bathe in it - not sure butthey do go through it fast.
brought back memories of Memmere in her mid-80s. She'd call my mother's number, expecting Alice to pick up (she lived with Alice at that time), grump to mom about her picking up Alice's phone, ramble in loops about things pertaining to Alice until mom's eyes were crossing with frustration, and abruptly hang up.
An hour or two later, the same thing again, no recollection of the earlier conversation.
200 families next year? It could happen... ;) A year is a long time to plan, much better than the usual one-week warnings I see for Xanga gatherings. "Hey, we're all meeting in Houston next Tuesday, who wants to come?" >.>
Keeping busy and taking in the fresh air is doubtlessly good for your mother. :)
Poor mom. I begin to suspect she'll never recover from dads death.
Your updates are never boring. I love reading about your life. Boo is so cute--I can't believe he's so bad. How long have you had him? Maybe he just needs some time?
I'm sorry for what you're going through with your mom. It's so hard to see people we love shells of their former selves. Hang in there.
@bigsister502 - Her mind seems to be clearer when she's busy, either in the garden or out running around with me. And I haven't had to push her to go out with me, I just ask and she says she'd like that. So we go to Target and Walmart and Martin's. Today we're going out to the pier just to hang out for a while.
She told me the other day that she's mad at God for taking Dad. She's said a couple of other things that make me think at least some of her memory problems are because she's still dealing with grief.
I'm glad your mom is doing a little better. And there are worse books over which one could obsess.
My mother worked as an assessment coordinator in a retirement home for years. She once commented that doctors often dismiss behavior as senility in the elderly, when it might very well be a reaction to grief and loss that would be treated with counseling in a younger person.