Rambling on a tight schedule

I'm retired, it time to relax, vacation, dabble in hobbies. Luckily, I have family to care for. I say luckily in that I have always needed structure. I taught summer school faithfully. I would squander an entire summer and find myself doing what I meant to do in the summer after school in September.

One summer, I pictured myself painting my house. That fall. I propped the ladder against the house and painted a section each day. It is just that when I have plenty of time, I procrastinate. Getting out of the house in the morning, I am mopping, sweeping, picking up like crazy. Everyone is in the car waiting as I run out the door with a bag of garbage to take to the curb.

This has been a miserable week. My mom has been sick. She maintains she caught what her two little dogs had. Each had been throwing up. These are some well petted and cared for darlings. I took a bug off Daisy and she gets on my mother's lap and looks at me like I had done something terrible to her. Such a snooty little patootie, she sits in her own chair in my mother's room and stretches her little legs to push you off.  Each one is getting picky about the dog food each morning. My mother is making them a better offer.

Dinner tonight is hamburger patties with Vidalia onions, mashed potatoes, boiled cabbage and cornbread. My mother is fond of potatoes, cabbage and cornbread. I hope she feels better soon. I don't care how old you get, you feel like a child when you think about what life would be without your parent. 

I remember when my dad passed. My maternal grandmother passed four days later. I actually had two people to tell me, "Well they were old." In my numbness, I was still alert to think, "And that has anything to do with whether you will miss them." I did not use benevolence leave when they passed. 

I did not want to take a day off work for such a miserable reason. I always believed in feeling too good to go to work. Of course my dad passed on the last day of school before Christmas holidays which made that easier. Such sad thoughts I know.

Daisy and Yoda as babies.