News
Saturday
Saturday morning dad and I went to Perkins for breakfast because there was no milk – despite my having bought some just the day before. I also made some chicken chili for our lunches next week. In the afternoon, Aaron and I played our alternating-Saturdays D&D game. In the evening, M11 and Aaron went to Perkins and I made some Jambalaya for more lunches for next week.
Sunday
Sunday I left early from a tough day at work. I thought we had a D&D oneshot planned, but apparently that was for next week. Doh! So instead we played go fish, went to Olive Garden, and then watched the Super Bowl. Well – Aaron watched the Super Bowl. I cross-stitched and took IL5 to bed. D14 made cornbread and watched a couple of plays. And M11 played on his tablet till 9, then acted insulted when I sent him down to bed during the overtime since he really was not interested in football, he just wanted to stay up. If he’d honestly cared about the game, I wouldn’t have sent him downstairs.
Monday
Dad had two appointments on Monday. Cardiac Rehab went well, but he was tired. The second was to discuss the spot on his arm that could be cancer. It’s not. So, yay! Some good news! Dad’s second bit of good news in a couple of weeks.
To offset that news, we found out D14 does, indeed, have scoliosis. It is a 30 degree curvature in the spine, and we’re going to see a spine specialist next week.
In the evening, IL5 had swim lessons and M11 trained for knots and lashing life skill with the Boy Scouts.
Tuesday
Tuesday D14 had an appointment, followed by a well-child visit for M11. Then my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a tough day. It had three appointments plus an appointment drop-off squished into literally the shortest amount of time possible: An hour-long cardiac rehab appointment with dad at 11am, then a 45 minute physical therapy appointment with dad at 12:20. Then I dropped dad off at home and picked up D14 for her 45 minute appointment which started at 1:45. Then I dropped her off at her final appointment at 3. Following that, I had some errands to run.
When I got home, I realized that 5 cans of chicken noodle soup and 3 cans of chili that had been bought yesterday were missing. They had been purchased on Tuesday. Dad is convinced J19 (my couch-surfing nephew) ate them – and somehow disappeared the empty cans. But I have reason to believe he took them to his girlfriend’s mom’s house. Not that I mind helping out people in need, but I want to agree to do it first – not have my food stolen. I don’t have money to feed an army.
Then I found out his window had been open – in winter, after being told twice to keep it closed. Plus, he ate ALL of the jambalaya I cooked for Aaron and my own lunches this week, despite being told last week that the stuff in Tupperware was reserved for Aaron and myself. Neither of us got any. So I texted J19, who communicates mainly by text, even when in the same house as someone, that he was out at the end of next week. This was difficult, as it will make his exit contentious. I had been hoping for a peaceful exit in April. Keep in mind, we’ve been mightily pissed at J19 the whole time since October, but this (plus losing multiple vapes – containing who knows what – in the house, which I found out the other day) pushed me over the edge. It was VERY stressful.
After that, I suddenly realized M11 wasn’t home. I had told him I needed him to come straight home after school to look after IL5, since I (at that time) planned on going somewhere. He was an hour late. So, I let dad watch IL5 (scary!) While I dashed quickly to the library – which is the ONLY place he goes after school. He wasn’t there. I checked his room again, and pondered. (Keep in mind, I was already exhauseeted and pissed off and stressed out.) It was now 5, and he is always home from the library by 4:30, so I thought it was starting to be irresponsible to not call 911. So, feeling a bit sheepish, I went ahead and called. Twenty minutes later, M11 came strolling up the driveway, carrying his trombone wearing a black coat, red, blue, and black backpack, and black pants, carrying a trombone – just as I described him to the police.
I was livid. He had forgotten that I’d told him to come directly home, and had found out that day that it was the first day of rehearsal for the middle school play, so he went to rehearsal. I felt he should have called, regardless of whether he remembered.
Then, I decided that I should try to cry, because I really wanted to cry, and crying is a good release. But I can’t really cry on demand, apparently, so I forced myself to sob, and managed two tears and slightly damp eyes after a good five minutes of trying. It was pathetic, and made me even more angry.
Then I read a book to IL5 and went to work.
Thursday
Thursday was mainly spent recovering from Wednesday. I went directly from work to work. But I wasn’t very productive at work, as I had a headache. The headache lasted throughout the day, despite the news that while I was gone, J19 had moved out with no arguments. He did leave some ammunition in the room, and IL5 came running out with it, feeling he’d found a new toy. I was livid. I don’t like guns, and I told J19 multiple times that guns were NOT allowed in my house.
The headache lasted through my date with Aaron at a Mexican restaurant. But it was nice having a date. I took a nap when I got home, and that made my headache subside before I went back to work.
Friday
Friday, I decided to relax as much as possible. I figured Thursday’s headache was burnout, and I hoped to be back to my productive self on Saturday.
After work, I took IL5 to an appointment, had an hour break, and then took him to his speech therapy. Then I “relaxed” for a few hours; “relax” being a loose term because IL5 was in an energetic mood and it was mostly me chasing him around doing damage control. Towards the end, we had a game of hide and seek, which ended with me hiding in the bathtub and him not being able to find me for quite a while. He checked under the bathroom sink (which I couldn’t fit under), but didn’t turn around and look at the tub.
That bit of positive attention calmed him down a bit, and we settled down to watch some TV. I set him up on the computer, and the rest of us watched the new Netflix show Resident Alien which was pretty funny, if lacking in continuity/verisimilitude. Aaron eventually left to do his gaming with his friends.
IL5 fell asleep and when he half woke up, we convinced him to switch to his newly Minecraft-decorated bed instead of the parents’ bedroom, but eventually I realized I forgot to put a diaper on him, and I didn’t want him to ruin his sheets on day 1. But then he wanted to move to our bed when he realized I wasn’t going to stay in there all night.
Reading to myself
- Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston
- Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams
- Dopesick, by Beth Macy
- Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
- Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson
Reading to IL5
- Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
- Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham
- Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
M11 reading
- Forest of Wonders, by Linda Sue Park
D14 reading
- A Good Kind of Trouble, by Lisa Moore Ramee
- Dragon’s Legacy, by Deborah A Wolf
Aaron reading
- The Burning God, by R F Kuang
Games Played
Go fish
Hibernator's Library 