Cutting the Apron Strings

 

 

This week Sonny Boy is off to Boy Scout camp.  It is the first long stay he's ever had away from family.  It's been disturbingly quiet around the house this week with just Igor around, amazing how the absence of one child cuts the noise factor by 98%.

 

 

The stranger thing is the wishing we knew what he was up to.  I don't really worry about his safety to be honest, I think (at least I hope) he's got enough sense to not do really stupid things.  But I do fret over stuff like brushing teeth or checking for ticks.  In comparison though I suppose I'm a little less tied to the kid than some of the other parents who are attending camp with their boys, because if that was a requirement I don't think he would get to go.  Spending a week in a tent with 40 or so teenage boys - most of them less than 15- no thanks.

 

Reports have trickled in from a couple of parents who have kids with phones and a mom who is splitting the camping with another parent.  Sonny Boy is doing well and has been having fun.  He has earned his Swimming merit badge but I don't know the status of his other projects.  I'm pretty sure Hubby and I have worried about him way more than he's worried about us.  As Hubby says he's much like his Grandfather and just goes with the flow.

 

Sonny Boy returns home tomorrow bringing smelly laundry, smelly feet, and a ton of tales.  I'm ready to hear them.

 

 



Again with the crazy

For the most part I've let Mom do her drain circling uninterrupted the last few weeks.  Her last fracture she was so non compliant about wearing her walking boot I simply gave up telling her "when you can't walk you can go to the nursing home".

Today while I was out shuttling children to and fro she flagged down Hubby.  Seems Mom received a letter from the state of Wisconsin because her tax return was an absolute nightmare.  Hubby said she'd checked boxes saying others claimed her as dependent, she was married, and a variety of other stuff.  If you remember she fouled up her federal returns too .  Her regular bills are becoming crazier monthly.  I have her "have to" bills on auto pay, but I'm sure her chaos of medical bills would give a CPA a migraine.  I don't even attempt those.

I totally get she doesn't want to give up her independence on things and ask for help.  I really do, but it makes me so angry she screws things up and then asks for help and it takes twice the effort to straighten things back out.  Things are getting to the point where she really needs more help but she won't accept it or agree to pay for it.  I refuse to spend family money on things like cleaning people (she really needs someone regularly) when I'd dearly love to have a cleaning lady myself.  Sure I'm capable of cleaning her little place, but her lack of effort of keeping even a minimum standard of cleanliness makes me so mad I can't make myself go over there and do jobs she is more than able to do for herself. - I'm talking about throwing away empty soda cans and used paper plates.

I'm really at that juncture of taking over and heading off calamity and risking a huge family blow up or waiting for the calamity and picking up the pieces and saying told you so.

Doldrums

I can't say there has been any great happenings lately, honestly I'm glad.

My neck symptoms have come back with a vengeance the last two weeks.  Near constant pain has not made me a happy camper.  In desperation last week I went in for a massage which helps some but not nearly enough or long lived.  I booked another appointment before I even left and I am looking forward to it mightily.

 I've also been trying to do some yoga in the hopes of helping the neck.  You Tube has about 10 kajillion videos so I've been sitting on the living room rug giving them a try after everyone goes to bed.  I don't know how therapeutic they are however tonight was quite the fiasco.   I'm sitting cross legged on the floor with my arms in crazy positions, when for some reason Callie (dog) decides I'm really interested in her slimy rawhide and she starts shoving it at me.  I try to ignore her but then she proceeds to clean my glasses with her tongue and pace in between me and the propped up I pad.  I get so tickled with the whole situation I'm giggling and fussing at the dog because really it must be quite the scene when I hear Hubby yell down the stairs "are you OK?"  Needless to say tonight's yoga was a wash.

The next few days have me finish prepping the camper.  I have it cleaned up, exterior washed, and all the mechanicals are good.  Hubby went to the DMV today and purchased tags for it (hasn't left the yard in over a year) now I simply need to stock it with linens and the "stolen" kitchen items that have migrated into the house.  I'm sure to not get everything needed, but I guess that's "roughing it".