Two memes and a few actual updates
Gacked from manue7a:
001. Real name → Debbie
002. Nickname(s)→ Mom (kids), Love (Will). I hate when people call me "Deb." It seems the instant thing everyone does, even when I have specifically introduced myself as Debbie, sign emails as Debbie, etc. The only person who is allowed to get away with it is my best friend, and only in a "Hey, Deb, how's it going?" sort of way. Most of the time, though, I let it slide, because it gets too tiring to explain over and over that I don't like it.
003. Zodiac sign → Cancer
004. Male or female → Female.
005. Age → 46
006. Dream Job → Children's librarian or sign language interpreter.
007. Eyes → dark dark brown
008. Hair color → Also dark dark brown, with too many gray strands around my face.
009. Long or short → Longer than my shoulders, but not SUPER long.
010. Loud or Quiet → MiniPlu is always shushing me, especially when I'm on the phone, so … loud, I guess?
011. Sweats or Jeans → Jeans.
012. Phone or Camera → Phone - I'm lazy.
013. Health freak → I try to strike a balance - I won't turn down carbs or sugar, but I exercise regularly, read food labels, and try not to be ridiculous in either direction.
15. Do you have a crush on someone? → No.
016. Eat or Drink → Eat.
017. Piercings → double pierced ears
018. Tattoos → None. I've answered this before but - I think some tattoos are cool but I know they don't always age well, and I'm not sure there's anything I would like to still be on my aging, saggy body when I'm in my 80s.
HAVE YOU EVER?
019. Been in an airplane → First ride for my 5th birthday, and a bazillion planes since.
020. Had sex with someone you just met → No.
021. Been in a car accident → Yes, but thankfully not serious.
022. Been in a fist fight → No. Not unless TKD sparring counts. :-P
FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → Pierced ears when I was 6 or 7 but they got infected so we had to let them close. Got them re-done a year later.
024. First best friend → Laurie, whom I met in 1st grade.
025. First award → Probably a ribbon for gymnastics. I never came in first or anything, but they usually gave ribbons out to 6th or 8th place or so.
026. First crush → Ian something-or-other, 4th grade.
027. First time → I had recently turned 21. Irony: the partner in question turned out to be gay.
028. First big vacation → The trip to the Netherlands for my 5th birthday, with my dad. First big vacation with my mom was when I was 8 - we went to Denmark and the UK.
LASTS:
029. Last person you talked to → My son.
030. Last person you texted → Will, asking if he'd validated the new credit card we got in the mail.
031. Last person you watched a movie with → I saw "The Shape of Water" with my SIL, Karen.
034. Last song you listened to → Something from "Pitch Perfect 2" soundtrack.
035. Last thing you bought → Materials to make a foam cushion and the cover for it, for our bay window.
036. Last person you hugged → Will.
FAVES:
037. Food → Fresh bread.
038. Drink → Water
039. Clothing → Jeans (or shorts, depending on weather) and a t-shirt. A pretty dress when the occasion warrants it.
040. Flower → Four: roses (generally pretty), tulips (for my Dutch background), lily of the valley (family connection) and plumeria (Hawaii)
041. Books → There is no way in hell I could pick a single favorite.
043. Movies → See above. Although in general I like things that have funny bits in them, even if that's not the main focus.
044. Subjects → To study? To talk about?
IN 2018, I ALREADY...
045. Kissed someone → Yes.
046. Celebrated Halloween → It hasn't happened yet in 2018.
047. Had your heart broken → No.
048. Went over the minutes on your cell phone → I'm pretty sure we have unlimited minutes.
049. Questioned someone’s sexual orientation → Why on earth would I do that?
050. Came out of the closet → Did that a long time ago.
051. Got pregnant → Not possible.
052. Had an abortion → No.
053. Did something you regretted → In the sense of "lost temper with Two" or "snapped at Will" - probably. Nothing too major.
054. Broke a promise → I really try hard not to do that.
055. Hid a secret → Only for birthday presents.
056. Pretended to be happy → I … don't think so?
057. Met someone who changed your life → Not yet.
058. Pretended to be sick → No.
059. Left the country → I wish.
060. Tried something you normally wouldn’t try and liked it → White pizza. Memory foam mattress topper.
061. Cried over the silliest thing → I rarely cry.
062. Ran a mile → Or six.
063. Went to the beach with your best friend(s) → I'm not a big beach person. And it's, you know, North American winter here.
064. Got into an argument with your friends → I don't argue with my friends on the rare occasions we get to talk.
065. Hated someone → President Cheeto.
066. Done something good for someone else → Small favors and treats for family members, grieving friends, things like that.
CURRENTLY:
067. Eating → Nothing.
068. Drinking → Nothing.
069. I’m about to → finish this meme
070. Listening to → the clock ticking
071. Plans for today → Take daughter to mall after dinner, play game with son.
072. Waiting for → Husband to return from truck dealership (helping his dad)
YOUR FUTURE:
073. Want kids? → Already got 'em.
074. Want to get married? → You're 20 years too late for that question.
075. Careers in mind → I'm good at the moment.
WHICH IS BETTER
076. Lips or eyes → Eyes.
077. Shorter or taller? → Not super important.
078. Romantic or spontaneous → Romantic.
079. Nice ass or tits → Tits. Don't have to be large, but I do think breasts are beautiful. (I also like a nice broad chest on a man. Never been an ass person for either gender.)
080. Sensitive or loud → In terms of what?
081. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
082. Troublemaker or hesitant → Neither?
HAVE YOU EVER:
083. Lost glasses/contacts lenses → I've lost glasses several times and then found them again later - usually at the point I've given up and ordered new glasses.
084. Ran away from home → No.
085. Held a gun/knife for self-defence → No, but I've learned how to defend myself from them.
086. Killed somebody → I suppose I've stepped on ants, squashed stinkbugs, that sort of thing. But that's more "killed something" than "somebody."
087. Broken someone’s heart → Yes.
088. Rejected someone’s call on purpose → If I don't know who's calling me.
089. Cried when someone died → Of course.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
090. Yourself → Most of the time.
091. Miracles → There are definitely things that cannot be easily explained.
092. Love at first sight → Yes. It hasn't happened to me, but I believe that it could.
093. Heaven → Yes. But I also believe reincarnation is possible. Don't ask me how I combine those ideas - I'm not too sure, myself, lol.
094. Santa Claus → I believe in the spirit of Santa Claus in the generous gestures people make and the surprises they give during the holidays.
095. Sex on the first date → It wouldn't be right for me, personally, but I'm not going to judge someone else as long as they were consensual adults.
096. Kiss on the first date → Yep, did this.
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → I want more time with husband.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life? → Eh. I like some aspects about it better than others.
099. Do you believe in God? → Yes
100. Do you believe in gods? → I believe that God manifests in ways people can best understand Them, and thus that the Divine is equally present in other religions. (It's why I don't repeat the line "I believe in one holy and Apostolic Church" during the Creed - because I believe that other faiths can be valid. And I don't want to lie.)
And a belated Friday Five, gacked from spiffikins:
1. Where did you go the last time you took an airplane ride?
To San Francisco (and back), Christmas 2017.
2. Are you a nervous flyer or a comfortable flyer?
I tolerate flying because it's the quickest way to go long distances, but it's not my favorite thing. I don't like turbulence at all, for the same reason I don't like roller coasters: I don't like sudden drops. I don't get nauseous, and I'm not afraid of crashing, but I hate the feeling.
3. Window seat or aisle seat?
Window. When flights get turbulent, it calms me to be able to look out the window. Also, I like having the option to lean against it if I'm sleepy. Most of the time these days I get the middle seat, because MiniPlu wants the aisle and Two wants the window. *shrug* I live.
4. What is the worst experience you've had flying?
Three come to mind, all "worst" in different ways.
The first was when I was about 12 or 13, coming back from visiting my dad. (I was flying alone.) We were in the clouds and hit an air pocket, and the plane just dropped. That was the point I became afraid of a) flying in clouds and b) turbulence. For years after that, if the plane so much as twitched, I clung to my mom's arm, and was super-duper anxious if I couldn't see out. It wasn't until my first trip to Germany, after high school graduation, that that eased some.
The second was when we went to get MiniPlu. While the flight itself was fine, it took more than 24 hours before we managed to leave the airport. Which then tied into the rest of the trip being incredibly stressful.
The third was the trans-Pacific trip back from China, with MiniPlu: we flew over a typhoon. Three hours of absolutely dreadful turbulence, the sort where even the flight attendants have to sit down. MiniPlu slept through it all. :P I basically stared out the horizon for three hours. Thankfully, the air settled out just as the last daylight disappeared.
5. What is the best experience you've had flying?
I'm inclined to say the Austrian Air flight we had on our honeymoon, from Frankfort to Salzburg. The flight was less than an hour, and the plane was small enough (2x2 across) that Will, standing in the aisle, could touch both overhead bins with his shoulders. But they served us a full breakfast on real plates, with real silverware, cloth napkins, the works. They were stuffing everything back into their cart minutes before landing, but they made it.
So, my life, let me go over some recent events:
1) I'm currently trying not to come down with a cold. I'm not sure I'm winning.
2) Several weeks ago, I thought I'd lost one of the cats. It was on 18 Jan; I'd worked the library in the morning, then ran errands, so I didn't get home until 1p. When I got home ... the front door was open about 4"/10cm. It's been sticking a little lately because of all the changes in weather, but I had definitely given it a good yank when I left for the library. And I always have the regular lock locked (by turning the button on the inside) before I pull it shut. But either Rob stuck his head out briefly for some reason or I didn't yank hard enough because it was open.
I immediately did a head count of all animals but Dessa, the troublemaker kitty - she routinely steals my stuff and had a field day at Christmas knocking my ornaments off our tree by reaching through the stair railing - was gone. Thankfully, all other animals were accounted for, but not Dessa. I scoured the house, with and without food in my hand, drove slowly through the neighborhood (although finding a partially white cat in a snowy neighborhood isn't fun) - no dice. Rob, of course, began ranting that that's it, she's gone, we'll never see her again, and was pissed that Karen (who, of course, panicked) came home from work (a 35 min drive) to help look for her but won't come home at a reasonable time to spend time with *him*, and I just felt terrible.
MiniPlu happened to come home from school around the time Karen was arriving at the house, and they both came inside. And while I was explaining to MiniPlu about Dessa being missing, she said, "She's right there." And pointed to where Dessa had just emerged from a tiny space behind one of the sofas. Keep in mind that I had looked under that sofa and even in the sofa (the cats have torn the liner under the sofa, and sometimes hide in the space) but the cats have never been inclined to hide behind it, and, in fact, Dessa isn't normally inclined to hide at all. Man, I was pissed off. I mean, all's well that ends well, but still - we could all have done with a great deal less panic. I did mention that Dessa is a troublemaker, right? Frankly, I think she hid specifically to cause a headache. Oy.
Then there's my father, whose wiring is coming more loose as he approaches his 91st birthday. It started in mid-January, when my dad's next-door neighbors, who had hosted my father for Christmas dinner, emailed me and my mom to express concern that his short term memory seemed worse and he seemed to have lost weight. My father would drive so rarely (stocking up on non-perishable staples and then not needing to go out for ages) that his ancient car ('1986) and pickup (1988?) batteries would keep dying. Which meant he didn't have transportation to get more food. Which was why he'd been losing weight.Did he speak up about this and ask for a ride? Of course not! >_< The next-door neighbors brought him a little food, but also suggested I look into maybe getting him some part-time assistance. I did talk to the local aging commission about acquiring a list of vetted caregivers, but then the next-door neighbors discovered that the across-the-street neighbor, a young woman in her late 20s, used to be a senior caregiver. She has an office job now, but she would definitely know how to handle my dad.
As it turned out, neighbor-across-the-street, Becca, was in need of a part-time second job to help make ends meet, so this actually worked out well. She did a week of bringing him food (she'd already brought him cookies on a couple of days) and helping him sort his mail (he's sometimes been "sorting" it while still walking up his drive to the house), little things like that, to get some idea of the amount of help he might need. We did settle on a weekly pay for her, which includes a bit extra to count towards he grocery bill, for feeding my dad most evenings now. She has been trying to coax him out to the store to do a little of his OWN shopping, but so far, no dice: he's now happy with the treats she's bringing him - much MUCH nicer food than he normally would bother making for himself (oatmeal for breakfast/lunch, and a mishmash of rice, maybe carrots or something, and some sort of simple protein like hot dogs or tunafish or beans). I mean, just ... chicken and rice, or lentil soup, or something like that, plus a baked treat or fruit salad, and he's been in paradise. So, anyway, she's still trying to coax him off his property; I'll have to talk with him about that when I call tomorrow, but he probably won't remember the conversation even if I do.
One thing my father made clear last week when I talked to him: Becca has been coming regularly enough now that he remembers she's been bringing him food. And he is BEYOND grateful. He admits he's starting to struggle more with routine tasks, Becca has said he seems more aimless now, too. So, anyway, I think he's in good hands now, and I think he can still stay where he is with this level of assistance, but it's hard to be so far away and not be able to do more, myself.
I've been subbing a lot lately, although a lot of partial days - school had a half day, or a teacher just had an appointment or short activity with other students somewhere off campus, or had to leave abruptly to pick up a sick kid, just lunch duty, or something like that. But given how exhausted I've been, all the partial days have been okay with me. I've got two full days coming up, though, Wed and Fri.
I finished my ChocolateBox story about 10 mins late, but I'd received a 2-day extension, so technically I was ahead of that deadline. :P I also finished reading A Wind in the Door to Two; he'd loved A Wrinkle in Time when the teacher read it aloud to his 7th grade English class last year. I have to confess - L'Engle's books don't really do much for me. Granted, it's been awhile since I read AWiT (I did read it as an adult, not a kid, but it's still been awhile), but even then - I liked it fine, but didn't looooove it, the way most people seem to with L'Engle's works.
Are people watching the Olympics? Apparently I can stream it, but I haven't had time to do so, so I haven't seen anything yet. :(
001. Real name → Debbie
002. Nickname(s)→ Mom (kids), Love (Will). I hate when people call me "Deb." It seems the instant thing everyone does, even when I have specifically introduced myself as Debbie, sign emails as Debbie, etc. The only person who is allowed to get away with it is my best friend, and only in a "Hey, Deb, how's it going?" sort of way. Most of the time, though, I let it slide, because it gets too tiring to explain over and over that I don't like it.
003. Zodiac sign → Cancer
004. Male or female → Female.
005. Age → 46
006. Dream Job → Children's librarian or sign language interpreter.
007. Eyes → dark dark brown
008. Hair color → Also dark dark brown, with too many gray strands around my face.
009. Long or short → Longer than my shoulders, but not SUPER long.
010. Loud or Quiet → MiniPlu is always shushing me, especially when I'm on the phone, so … loud, I guess?
011. Sweats or Jeans → Jeans.
012. Phone or Camera → Phone - I'm lazy.
013. Health freak → I try to strike a balance - I won't turn down carbs or sugar, but I exercise regularly, read food labels, and try not to be ridiculous in either direction.
15. Do you have a crush on someone? → No.
016. Eat or Drink → Eat.
017. Piercings → double pierced ears
018. Tattoos → None. I've answered this before but - I think some tattoos are cool but I know they don't always age well, and I'm not sure there's anything I would like to still be on my aging, saggy body when I'm in my 80s.
HAVE YOU EVER?
019. Been in an airplane → First ride for my 5th birthday, and a bazillion planes since.
020. Had sex with someone you just met → No.
021. Been in a car accident → Yes, but thankfully not serious.
022. Been in a fist fight → No. Not unless TKD sparring counts. :-P
FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → Pierced ears when I was 6 or 7 but they got infected so we had to let them close. Got them re-done a year later.
024. First best friend → Laurie, whom I met in 1st grade.
025. First award → Probably a ribbon for gymnastics. I never came in first or anything, but they usually gave ribbons out to 6th or 8th place or so.
026. First crush → Ian something-or-other, 4th grade.
027. First time → I had recently turned 21. Irony: the partner in question turned out to be gay.
028. First big vacation → The trip to the Netherlands for my 5th birthday, with my dad. First big vacation with my mom was when I was 8 - we went to Denmark and the UK.
LASTS:
029. Last person you talked to → My son.
030. Last person you texted → Will, asking if he'd validated the new credit card we got in the mail.
031. Last person you watched a movie with → I saw "The Shape of Water" with my SIL, Karen.
034. Last song you listened to → Something from "Pitch Perfect 2" soundtrack.
035. Last thing you bought → Materials to make a foam cushion and the cover for it, for our bay window.
036. Last person you hugged → Will.
FAVES:
037. Food → Fresh bread.
038. Drink → Water
039. Clothing → Jeans (or shorts, depending on weather) and a t-shirt. A pretty dress when the occasion warrants it.
040. Flower → Four: roses (generally pretty), tulips (for my Dutch background), lily of the valley (family connection) and plumeria (Hawaii)
041. Books → There is no way in hell I could pick a single favorite.
043. Movies → See above. Although in general I like things that have funny bits in them, even if that's not the main focus.
044. Subjects → To study? To talk about?
IN 2018, I ALREADY...
045. Kissed someone → Yes.
046. Celebrated Halloween → It hasn't happened yet in 2018.
047. Had your heart broken → No.
048. Went over the minutes on your cell phone → I'm pretty sure we have unlimited minutes.
049. Questioned someone’s sexual orientation → Why on earth would I do that?
050. Came out of the closet → Did that a long time ago.
051. Got pregnant → Not possible.
052. Had an abortion → No.
053. Did something you regretted → In the sense of "lost temper with Two" or "snapped at Will" - probably. Nothing too major.
054. Broke a promise → I really try hard not to do that.
055. Hid a secret → Only for birthday presents.
056. Pretended to be happy → I … don't think so?
057. Met someone who changed your life → Not yet.
058. Pretended to be sick → No.
059. Left the country → I wish.
060. Tried something you normally wouldn’t try and liked it → White pizza. Memory foam mattress topper.
061. Cried over the silliest thing → I rarely cry.
062. Ran a mile → Or six.
063. Went to the beach with your best friend(s) → I'm not a big beach person. And it's, you know, North American winter here.
064. Got into an argument with your friends → I don't argue with my friends on the rare occasions we get to talk.
065. Hated someone → President Cheeto.
066. Done something good for someone else → Small favors and treats for family members, grieving friends, things like that.
CURRENTLY:
067. Eating → Nothing.
068. Drinking → Nothing.
069. I’m about to → finish this meme
070. Listening to → the clock ticking
071. Plans for today → Take daughter to mall after dinner, play game with son.
072. Waiting for → Husband to return from truck dealership (helping his dad)
YOUR FUTURE:
073. Want kids? → Already got 'em.
074. Want to get married? → You're 20 years too late for that question.
075. Careers in mind → I'm good at the moment.
WHICH IS BETTER
076. Lips or eyes → Eyes.
077. Shorter or taller? → Not super important.
078. Romantic or spontaneous → Romantic.
079. Nice ass or tits → Tits. Don't have to be large, but I do think breasts are beautiful. (I also like a nice broad chest on a man. Never been an ass person for either gender.)
080. Sensitive or loud → In terms of what?
081. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
082. Troublemaker or hesitant → Neither?
HAVE YOU EVER:
083. Lost glasses/contacts lenses → I've lost glasses several times and then found them again later - usually at the point I've given up and ordered new glasses.
084. Ran away from home → No.
085. Held a gun/knife for self-defence → No, but I've learned how to defend myself from them.
086. Killed somebody → I suppose I've stepped on ants, squashed stinkbugs, that sort of thing. But that's more "killed something" than "somebody."
087. Broken someone’s heart → Yes.
088. Rejected someone’s call on purpose → If I don't know who's calling me.
089. Cried when someone died → Of course.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
090. Yourself → Most of the time.
091. Miracles → There are definitely things that cannot be easily explained.
092. Love at first sight → Yes. It hasn't happened to me, but I believe that it could.
093. Heaven → Yes. But I also believe reincarnation is possible. Don't ask me how I combine those ideas - I'm not too sure, myself, lol.
094. Santa Claus → I believe in the spirit of Santa Claus in the generous gestures people make and the surprises they give during the holidays.
095. Sex on the first date → It wouldn't be right for me, personally, but I'm not going to judge someone else as long as they were consensual adults.
096. Kiss on the first date → Yep, did this.
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → I want more time with husband.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life? → Eh. I like some aspects about it better than others.
099. Do you believe in God? → Yes
100. Do you believe in gods? → I believe that God manifests in ways people can best understand Them, and thus that the Divine is equally present in other religions. (It's why I don't repeat the line "I believe in one holy and Apostolic Church" during the Creed - because I believe that other faiths can be valid. And I don't want to lie.)
And a belated Friday Five, gacked from spiffikins:
1. Where did you go the last time you took an airplane ride?
To San Francisco (and back), Christmas 2017.
2. Are you a nervous flyer or a comfortable flyer?
I tolerate flying because it's the quickest way to go long distances, but it's not my favorite thing. I don't like turbulence at all, for the same reason I don't like roller coasters: I don't like sudden drops. I don't get nauseous, and I'm not afraid of crashing, but I hate the feeling.
3. Window seat or aisle seat?
Window. When flights get turbulent, it calms me to be able to look out the window. Also, I like having the option to lean against it if I'm sleepy. Most of the time these days I get the middle seat, because MiniPlu wants the aisle and Two wants the window. *shrug* I live.
4. What is the worst experience you've had flying?
Three come to mind, all "worst" in different ways.
The first was when I was about 12 or 13, coming back from visiting my dad. (I was flying alone.) We were in the clouds and hit an air pocket, and the plane just dropped. That was the point I became afraid of a) flying in clouds and b) turbulence. For years after that, if the plane so much as twitched, I clung to my mom's arm, and was super-duper anxious if I couldn't see out. It wasn't until my first trip to Germany, after high school graduation, that that eased some.
The second was when we went to get MiniPlu. While the flight itself was fine, it took more than 24 hours before we managed to leave the airport. Which then tied into the rest of the trip being incredibly stressful.
The third was the trans-Pacific trip back from China, with MiniPlu: we flew over a typhoon. Three hours of absolutely dreadful turbulence, the sort where even the flight attendants have to sit down. MiniPlu slept through it all. :P I basically stared out the horizon for three hours. Thankfully, the air settled out just as the last daylight disappeared.
5. What is the best experience you've had flying?
I'm inclined to say the Austrian Air flight we had on our honeymoon, from Frankfort to Salzburg. The flight was less than an hour, and the plane was small enough (2x2 across) that Will, standing in the aisle, could touch both overhead bins with his shoulders. But they served us a full breakfast on real plates, with real silverware, cloth napkins, the works. They were stuffing everything back into their cart minutes before landing, but they made it.
So, my life, let me go over some recent events:
1) I'm currently trying not to come down with a cold. I'm not sure I'm winning.
2) Several weeks ago, I thought I'd lost one of the cats. It was on 18 Jan; I'd worked the library in the morning, then ran errands, so I didn't get home until 1p. When I got home ... the front door was open about 4"/10cm. It's been sticking a little lately because of all the changes in weather, but I had definitely given it a good yank when I left for the library. And I always have the regular lock locked (by turning the button on the inside) before I pull it shut. But either Rob stuck his head out briefly for some reason or I didn't yank hard enough because it was open.
I immediately did a head count of all animals but Dessa, the troublemaker kitty - she routinely steals my stuff and had a field day at Christmas knocking my ornaments off our tree by reaching through the stair railing - was gone. Thankfully, all other animals were accounted for, but not Dessa. I scoured the house, with and without food in my hand, drove slowly through the neighborhood (although finding a partially white cat in a snowy neighborhood isn't fun) - no dice. Rob, of course, began ranting that that's it, she's gone, we'll never see her again, and was pissed that Karen (who, of course, panicked) came home from work (a 35 min drive) to help look for her but won't come home at a reasonable time to spend time with *him*, and I just felt terrible.
MiniPlu happened to come home from school around the time Karen was arriving at the house, and they both came inside. And while I was explaining to MiniPlu about Dessa being missing, she said, "She's right there." And pointed to where Dessa had just emerged from a tiny space behind one of the sofas. Keep in mind that I had looked under that sofa and even in the sofa (the cats have torn the liner under the sofa, and sometimes hide in the space) but the cats have never been inclined to hide behind it, and, in fact, Dessa isn't normally inclined to hide at all. Man, I was pissed off. I mean, all's well that ends well, but still - we could all have done with a great deal less panic. I did mention that Dessa is a troublemaker, right? Frankly, I think she hid specifically to cause a headache. Oy.
Then there's my father, whose wiring is coming more loose as he approaches his 91st birthday. It started in mid-January, when my dad's next-door neighbors, who had hosted my father for Christmas dinner, emailed me and my mom to express concern that his short term memory seemed worse and he seemed to have lost weight. My father would drive so rarely (stocking up on non-perishable staples and then not needing to go out for ages) that his ancient car ('1986) and pickup (1988?) batteries would keep dying. Which meant he didn't have transportation to get more food. Which was why he'd been losing weight.Did he speak up about this and ask for a ride? Of course not! >_< The next-door neighbors brought him a little food, but also suggested I look into maybe getting him some part-time assistance. I did talk to the local aging commission about acquiring a list of vetted caregivers, but then the next-door neighbors discovered that the across-the-street neighbor, a young woman in her late 20s, used to be a senior caregiver. She has an office job now, but she would definitely know how to handle my dad.
As it turned out, neighbor-across-the-street, Becca, was in need of a part-time second job to help make ends meet, so this actually worked out well. She did a week of bringing him food (she'd already brought him cookies on a couple of days) and helping him sort his mail (he's sometimes been "sorting" it while still walking up his drive to the house), little things like that, to get some idea of the amount of help he might need. We did settle on a weekly pay for her, which includes a bit extra to count towards he grocery bill, for feeding my dad most evenings now. She has been trying to coax him out to the store to do a little of his OWN shopping, but so far, no dice: he's now happy with the treats she's bringing him - much MUCH nicer food than he normally would bother making for himself (oatmeal for breakfast/lunch, and a mishmash of rice, maybe carrots or something, and some sort of simple protein like hot dogs or tunafish or beans). I mean, just ... chicken and rice, or lentil soup, or something like that, plus a baked treat or fruit salad, and he's been in paradise. So, anyway, she's still trying to coax him off his property; I'll have to talk with him about that when I call tomorrow, but he probably won't remember the conversation even if I do.
One thing my father made clear last week when I talked to him: Becca has been coming regularly enough now that he remembers she's been bringing him food. And he is BEYOND grateful. He admits he's starting to struggle more with routine tasks, Becca has said he seems more aimless now, too. So, anyway, I think he's in good hands now, and I think he can still stay where he is with this level of assistance, but it's hard to be so far away and not be able to do more, myself.
I've been subbing a lot lately, although a lot of partial days - school had a half day, or a teacher just had an appointment or short activity with other students somewhere off campus, or had to leave abruptly to pick up a sick kid, just lunch duty, or something like that. But given how exhausted I've been, all the partial days have been okay with me. I've got two full days coming up, though, Wed and Fri.
I finished my ChocolateBox story about 10 mins late, but I'd received a 2-day extension, so technically I was ahead of that deadline. :P I also finished reading A Wind in the Door to Two; he'd loved A Wrinkle in Time when the teacher read it aloud to his 7th grade English class last year. I have to confess - L'Engle's books don't really do much for me. Granted, it's been awhile since I read AWiT (I did read it as an adult, not a kid, but it's still been awhile), but even then - I liked it fine, but didn't looooove it, the way most people seem to with L'Engle's works.
Are people watching the Olympics? Apparently I can stream it, but I haven't had time to do so, so I haven't seen anything yet. :(