Updates 5- 6-13

May 06, 2013 13:04

The long-term reader may recall that when we bought my house, the back yard was full of river rocks because my parents, who owned it first, were getting up in years and didn't want to be troubled with yard work.

So for the past five years we have been slowly moving rocks from one side of the yard to the other, hauling out truck loads once or twice a summer, laying grass seed by the handful in the dirt where the rocks have been peeled back.

I have touched every. single. rock., personally. Sometimes more than once.

Anyway, since we've decided to hold the Kinglet's 7th birthday at the house (in three weeks!!!), we're in the final push. We had a rock-moving party on Saturday that left us with just 1/4 of the yard still covered, with rocks and soil packed only 3-4 inches thick. I spent Sunday attacking the rest, filling buckets or tossing rocks from just after breakfast until I was too tired to move in the afternoon. I earned myself some bright red shoulders and a neon pink solar tramp-stamp above my ass of which I might take a picture if I'm feeling saucy later. In any event, Totally Worth It.

We're enjoying a bit of actual spring these days. Normally spring in Delaware goes from chilly April showers to blazing hot without much warning in between. Right now it's quite cold in the mornings and warms up gradually, so you can end the day without a sweater and a feeling that all is right with the world.

I bought a new sundress. The Kinglet cleaned out his wading pool all by himself and had a blast splashing and sliding in the suds. ("This is way funner than REGULAR cleaning, Mom!") I'm eyeing my new patches of rockless dirt, forming vegetable gardens and meandering foot trails in my mind.

Good times.

In other news, I keep trying to have a conversation with my mother, and it's not happening. Little things come up that I file away to tell her - I picked up a copy of my birth certificate, which I'll need to renew my license this year. The Kinglet said something funny the other day. I found a new little weird thing among the rocks from when they lived here - a Fischer Price guy. A french coin.

She's in dialysis three days a week, though, and it leaves her exhausted. She sleeps a lot, at weird hours. And lately she's been going through a lot of medical tests to qualify for the transplant list, so even on the off-days she's unavailable or weary.

My father is easier to reach, but we don't see much of him. He comes out once in a while, but he doesn't stay long. His stamina is low.

It's like practice for when they're gone. It feels odd, to think of it like that, but frankly, that's what this is.

I've been wishing I could visit my grandmother, now that she's settled in California. Can't afford it, though.

I'll have to settle for writing her a letter.

The Kinglet has had some setbacks in school. Hard to say if it's a transition-thing, coming down off of Spring Break, or if he's cycling, or merely reacting differently to his meds because he's growing. Or whatever. Lots of struggles, lots of worries, but lots to be proud of, too.

Feeling ill today, sun fatigue and so on. Spent the morning teasing out ideas for COVENANT - now all I want to do is take a bath and lie in the sun somewhere. The sun was out for a little while, but it changed it's mind and now it's cold again.

Cloudy skies, rainy day mood.

covenant, clan, writing, raising kinglet, home

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