Saturday, October 1, 2011

Gotta Love 'Em!

Reading a friend's FB profile tonight about something his son said, and how it was so funny because he mispronounced the word reminded me of the following conversation with Meg when she was in 4th grade:

Meg: I learned a new word in school today.

Me: Cool! What is it?

Meg: Reardeveer. (Phonetic spelling - for obvious reasons.)

Me: What?! (wondering what I just heard)

Meg: Reardeveer.

Me: (After trying to figure out if I've ever heard such a word - especially as a 4th grader...) Meg, I don't think there is such a word.

Meg: Yes, there is. I learned it in school today.

Me: No, I don't think there is any such word. I've never heard anything like it.

Meg: (Getting seriously annoyed with me.) Well, that was the word.

Me: (Looking at her in the rear view mirror - a light comes on...) Do you mean rear view mirror?

Meg: NO! I'm telling you the word is REAR-DE-VEER! (Finally figures out a way for me to understand...) It's another word for your bottom.

Me: (Lightbulb moment) Oh, you mean derriere!

Meg: (Totally frustrated with me by this point) THAT'S WHAT I SAID!

Me: (Totally chastised...) Oh.

This one is another one of my favorites. A little background on this story - Meg was about the same age as the last story, and she had painted her fingernails a horrifying yellow color. She had a small cyst on the outside corner of her eye, so we were at the doctor's office and he recommended surgery with a general anesthetic. This conversation took place while w were talking to the nurse who had scheduled the surgery.

Meg: (To the nurse) Do you like my nail polish?

Nurse: It's certainly different.

Meg:  Mom doesn't like it, she says it looks like I have gonorrhea.

The nurse and I both gasp, I think probably for different reasons....

Me: I did no no such thing!!! I said it looked like you had JAUNDICE!

Meg:  Oh well, I was close...

The nurse was still laughing as we went out the door. I'm sure we made her day.

This might be my all time favorite though - and I'm only sharing this because she NEVER reads my blog... She was probably about 12, maybe 13 when we had this lovely mother-daughter exchange.

Meg: I'm having a horrible stomach ache.

Me: Is it a stomach ache or is it the cramps? (She has a lot of "tummy trouble" just like her mama...)

Meg: Well, I'm not going to throw up, if that's what you mean.

Me: Okay. Is your period coming? That will give you cramps sometimes.

Meg: I don't know. My period is so erotic.

Me: (Seriously, by this time I'm getting used to these conversations...) Do you mean erratic?

Meg: Erratic, erotic... What's the difference? (Shrugs her shoulders and walks away...)

I give up.




Friday, September 30, 2011

Can We Replay Today?

The day wasn't so bad - believe me, it was worse for dad.... But let me start at the beginning. Mel called me this morning to let me know she was on her way over to get me. Dad, Mel, and I had discussed that I was going to be in charge of dad's finances from now on. I thought that just might be a good idea since he's going to be in Grand Island. It's not Mel, I distrust, I'll leave it at that. I talked to dad the other day and asked him how much cash he actually had in the house. Last I knew it was a pretty good amount. Well, now he has none. Not one red cent.... Okay, he has a change jar on his dresser, so maybe he has about 10 bucks, but that's about it. So we talked about it and I decided to take over taking care of the funds.

So, Mel woke me up and told me she was on her way over. Cool. I was ready, all except for "putting my leg on" as I refer to bandaging up my ankle and putting on the boot, so we were soon on our way. Went to the credit union and got all the finances straightened out, got a check for the GIVH for Monday and reordered new checks with the correct address on them. Check.

We needed some boxes because we planned on cleaning out dad's closet today and getting rid of the stuff that didn't fit, so we went to U-Haul and got 3 boxes and a new roll of tape. Check

Dad wanted to take us out to lunch for all we've done for him and just to have a good time today, so we went out to Big Fred's. I got my old standard, Phil's Salad, which I couldn't finish, as usual, so I got it in a box to take home. This is important to remember... Check.

Next, we had to go get Sarah's check and get it deposited into her bank for her since she had to work tonight and wanted to get her money into the bank today. Check

We're on the way to Village Pointe, when dad said he had a stomach ache - uh oh... We got out to the shopping center and wouldn't you know it, there was no place to park. We drove around twice while looking for a place, but dad really had to use the restroom, so we stopped at the Theater complex so he could use the bathroom, we dropped him off and said we'd be right back as soon as Mel got Sar's check. We drove around the parking lot 3 more times looking for a close place, but finally decided to just double park in front of the theater, Mel would run down and get Sar's check and we'd be close for dad when he came out. Dad came out all right - he didn't quite make it to the bathroom. Uh oh... But he got himself pretty well cleaned up except for his socks. And his shoes... And the toilet in the theater wouldn't flush and he really didn't make it to the toilet... OMG... I felt horrible for him, but really, when you're a 54-year-old woman, they really frown on you accompanying a 78-year-old man into a public restroom. Dad did mention to the guy at the door that they might want to get a janitor into the men's bathroom... Oh for the love of Pete... Mel got back to the car about then and realized dad hadn't quite made it to the bathroom, so plans to go to the bank were altered a bit. We decided to take dad home to shower and Mel would run the check to the bank for Sarah while I started packing the closet. Check.

When we got to Mel's I grabbed my purse, my empty soda can, the envelope of information for the home, and my salad and finally managed to extricate myself from the back seat, which isn't as easy as it sounds with the damn boot on. I asked Mel to grab my camera bag, but still managed to be the last one in the house. I was walking up the first flight of stairs, from the foyer to the living room, and dad was just rounding the living room stairs, about to go up the second flight to the bedrooms when he lost his balance and fell backward. I don't know how the hell he did it, but he was falling backward down the flight of stairs I was standing on. All I heard was a crack (like I heard when I broke my leg) and I yelled, "DAD!!" at the top of my lungs and dropped the salad, the pop can, and the envelope I was holding in order to grab dad and catch him as he fell - which I did. All 275 pounds of him. I'm going to feel that tomorrow!  All I saw as I caught him was the salad I dropped on the stairs and I remember thinking "Oh my God, he threw up too..." I was very relieved to see it was my salad! Mel was screaming for Missy, who was out on the deck talking on her cell phone, as she was running over to help. Missy was oblivious, while Mel and I tried to get dad up the stairs and onto the living room floor, which we finally did, which was more difficult than it sounds because by this time I realized dad was okay, it wasn't vomit on the stairs, and then I got the darn giggles. I could barely stand up, I'm trying to push dad up the stairs while Mel pulled, and I had to pee so bad, it just struck my darn funny bone. I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. Double check...

Between Mel pulling and me pushing (It's a good thing dad isn't a Stretch Armstrong doll, or his arms would be 6 feet long...) we finally got him at least onto the living room carpet where we saw that he had cut two of his fingers pretty bad. By that time, Missy had finally realized what was going on and she helped him get to his feet and out into the kitchen to run some cold water over his fingers while Mel ran to get some towels.  I finally made it to the bathroom and by the time I got out, I looked over the railing (cracking my head on the ceiling over the lower staircase - you have to see the house to see what I mean) and saw PeeWee finishing off the salad that was all over the stairs. I can't believe he didn't spend the rest of the afternoon yarking, not exactly good for dog tummies. After cleaning up dad as best we could, from both accidents; and cataloging his injuries (A big gash on one finger on each hand, a cut above his elbow on the right, and a small puncture wound on his right calf), we decided he would need a stitch or two on each finger so I asked Miss if she would take dad to the hospital while Mel and I got the rest of the errands run. She was pissed and dad had to give her 10 bucks for gas, but she did take him. He did end up needing one stitch in each finger. Thanks goodness he has had a tetanus shot recently, so he didn't have to have another one - but I think he would have preferred that to the lidocaine in the finger prior to the stitches!

While they were gone, Mel and I got Sarah's check into the bank and got dad's closet all cleaned out, and one whole dresser cleaned out and everything packed to bring over to my house. Since Mel doesn't have an apartment yet and Missy isn't sure of her future living plans, we storing everything at my house. We've got 2 empty bedrooms in the basement, that way we won't have to pay for storage and if dad gets tired of the shirts and sweats he has packed to wear, we can switch out clothes with him.

About the time everybody got back home and settled in, dad's guardian ad litem showed up with some Very Good News... Dad FINALLY has a court date for his divorce!!! Yahoo!!! It's December 28. Happy Freaking New Year!  Thank God for his GAL, because if we left it up to his divorce attorney, we'd never get anywhere. Although he might be willing to get his butt moving now because dad's expendable income is next to nothing and we're not going to be giving him $500 every other month to do absolutely NOTHING.  Anyway, that was good news, and I was very happy to hear that.


I get so mad at Missy sometimes, I can't believe God let that idiot procreate. And she's done such a stellar job. Not. She told Mel tonight that she was going to spend the weekend at Ray's. I can't believe it. She's been walking around bawling all week because she's going to miss dad soooo much, she wishes he didn't have to go, yet the last 2 days he's home, she goes off to Ray's. Oh, the love is almost palpable, isn't it? Then AJ and his damn wedding. For months dad has been so excited because AJ told him that he was going to wear a tux. Dad has been telling everyone how excited he was that he was going to wear a tux at the wedding. Then AJ tells him sometime during the past week or so that he wasn't going to wear a tux, but a suit. Dad doesn't have a suit. AJ told Mel to take dad out and get him measured and fitted for a suit and AJ would buy him one. So Mel took him out and got him measured and AJ called Mel tonight and told her that he didn't have the money to buy one, so dad would have to get it himself. After I told AJ the other night in an unrelated conversation that dad didn't HAVE any money. And to top it all off, Missy told Mel that AJ couldn't afford the suit IN FRONT OF DAD. How effing stupid can you be? Dad said to never mind, he wouldn't go to the wedding. I found a letter several months ago that AJ wrote to dad, telling him how important he was to AJ, that dad was his "best buddy" and how much AJ loved him - right.... And this is how you treat that person? WTF? I'm so disappointed in Aaron, I really am. I wish I had the money to buy a damn suit, but I sure don't. Even if dad could wear a tux that didn't match the groomsmen or whatever, that would sure be cheaper than having to buy a suit. I wish they'd just freaking elope. And I sure hope they're not expecting a grand wedding present from us.

Well, there's nothing anybody can do about it, you can't fix selfish I guess, just the same as you can't fix stupid. In this family, it's pretty much one in the same. When AJ stiffed Matt for the medical bills when Matt hurt himself out riding Aaron's ATV and he promised to pay for them because his insurance didn't cover anyone else, I didn't think so much about it. He was young, he didn't have a great job, and the bills were expensive, no big deal, but this is reprehensible. This is his GRANDPA for the love of Pete... Ah well, I feel better just venting about it. I just feel so darn bad for dad that I want to smack the shit of just about anybody spawned by that idiot sister of mine.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Same Old Stuff

Wondering what the Weather Channel will post when they finally take the flood warning off Omaha's page? When all this flooding started and the Corps of Engineers were saying that some pple may not get back home until August, I thought that was such a long time, and now here it is the middle of September and a lot of people still aren't able to come back to their homes. In so many cases, the homes are totally ruined, so even if they're back to a point where they can get to their homes, they're not able to live in them - and heaven only knows how long it will take to get the insurance settlement and then they have to decide if they want to rebuild there or somewhere else. I'd have a hard time making a decision like that. Supposedly this was a big freak accident that just happened when everything came together for a disaster, so much snowpack from heavy snowfall in the northern plains, a late summer, etc., but I really think a big part of the problem was the COE holding too much water in the dam for the recreational users of Gavins Point and other lake and water rec areas in South and North Dakota and then when all the water hit they had nowhere for it to go. I'm scared the same thing will happen next spring if big changes aren't made over this winter. I feel sorry for everyone who is still displaced by the floods. Think I did a little much yesterday. I was so excited about hearing about a new app for my iPod that would put the latitude and longitude on a new program that keeps track of graves in the US. I was so jazzed about it that I didn't stop to think the whole thing through. I don't have an iPhone, I have an iPod touch with wi-fi, not on a 3G or 4G network. So, Steve and I went up to the cemetery up on Military after dinner to see if it would work or not - and.... Of course it didn't!!! Silly me. How did I think the GPS was going to work without being connected to anything? Duh. After we left the cemetery we went over to Mom and Bob's - to feed the possum. Ha ha ha... How many people do you know would make sure their wild nocturnal visitors are well fed? Not only does the possum have to be fed, but the squirrels need to have new corn, and the bird feeders need to be fed, I'm missing the bird feeder on our old deck. As glad as I was to see that thing gone before somebody (probably me) got killed out there! I loved watching the robins, cardinals, and blue birds, along with the little starlings and the big black birds that Bob hates. I loved taking pictures of them as they came up to visit. I felt lucky when the sqirrels came to visit too, so I could watch all the birds and animals interact. Took loots of photos last summer. Go back to Dr. E on Friday to hopefully get the staples out. I haven't been able to wear Das Boot. My ankle is really swollen since he had to chisel that plate out of the bone. Lots more bruising than I was expecting too. Never mi\\\gh, cause it's all done - Yahoo! I wonder if he hasCam walkers that I could get anew one. Let's ope so. My ankle gets terribly tired when I walk on it a lot, I think the boot would help That's it. Nothingn new.

Growing Up

We got the call on Monday that the VA Home had a bed for dad. I was so glad. I'm so happy that we don't have to worry about him anymore. We took him out to dinner at Boyd and Charlie's for Burger Tuesday last night with dad, Mel, and Sarah, and then we went back to his house and broke the news. I had been praying and praying all day yesterday that things would go well. Prayed for the right words to tell him, prayed for him to understand that we're just looking out for him. He took it very well, and I think we handled ourselves very well. By the time we left he said he was "leaning toward going", but he wanted to think about it overnight. I can imagine it's hard for him to give up the idea of living in his own home. I don't even know if he really realizes he won't ever dome "home" again. I mean, I know he knows, but does he understand - I'm not sure. Tonight Steve and I went to Wal-Mart and grabbed some boxes to at least get his clothes packed that he's going to take. He's doing great. We could talk about anything and he was very cooperative and acting like he's actually looking forward to going. I think it helped that Bob called him today and told him what a good thing he thinks this is for dad. He's going with us on Monday so he can take a look around too. Bob had no idea that he (and Carol) could go to the VA Home, so he wanted to go look around. I found out that he's been paying $1000 a month in premiums for long term care insurance for him and mom. That's just crazy - there are so many things they could be doing with that money! When we were over at dad's and getting the stuff packed, we were talking about his checking account. The money for the second mortgage is automatically deducted from his checking account, so he's just going to close his account and open another. He wants to get all that done on Friday when his check goes into the Credit Union. I said that was fine, but we need the money for his payment on Monday. So I was trying to explain to him that we probably would need a cashier's check for the home. He kept saying, we'll just write a check from the old account, but I was trying to tell him that there wouldn't be any money in the old account to write a check on because he would have used the money to open the new account. He just couldn't grasp it. I knew he was getting worse, I expected him to be getting worse, but to see how bad it seems to have gotten just breaks my heart. I see my grandma in him now, the grandma with Alzheimers. I don't want to see my dad like that. I just don't. I know we don't have much good time left, and I'm sad that he's going to be so far away. We have to take advantage of spending good quality time with him while we can. The older I get the more I realize how much I love my daddy, even though he felt like a big brother for so long. The first stingray bike I ever got, while even Cathy D, was riding an older bike. The swimming pools we used to have and how he set them up. I remember my Brownie Troop going on a field trip to the old Police Station and running into my dad in the garage and I was so embarrassed that he was a police officer that I wouldn't even talk to him. Having grown up and had kids of my own, I imagine that really hurt his feelings. Of course I remember the bad things too... Begging him to take my picture at a party he and mom were having. He took my picture all right. After I got spanked for bothering him about the picture and then he took the picture. Thank God it was black and white because my face was still all blotchy! Silly dad... Anyway, lots of memories came back tonight, not all good, but certainly not all bad and I know that the dad I know is really failing and I'm going to miss him. That's all about that tonight. I'm jjst too weepy to go on. Had to take Heidi and Ben both to the vet today. I knew one of them had a bladder infection, but just wasn't sure which one. Monday we found a small (Cookie-size) piddle under the rocker where Ben likes to "go" and there were 2 drop of red blood in it. So, Ben and Ruger were both wearing belly bands. Then yesterday while Ben had a small reprieve from the dreaded belly band I found a little tiny puddle with blood in it again - only this time it was in the bedroom, in the middle of open space, like a girl had done it. Hmmmmm.... Which one did it? Both Heidi and Ruger had been in the bedroom, so I had no way of knowing. I didn't want whoever it was to continue to be in pain and I knew from the small amount of urine that they were having some pain. I made an appointment today at 2:20 for both of them. Well, Heidi did have a bladder infection, so she's on antibiotics, and Ben's wink was bruised, so that could have been a source of fresh blood too, so since we couldn't get a urine sample from Ben, we just put both of them on antibiotics. I hope they both feel better really soon! The weather yesterday and today has been warm! Wouldn't you figure? Mom buys me a cool sweatshirt and it's been too warm to wear it. I thought today would be cool, so I wore it to the vet and nearly sweat to death! Leaving the vet I saw the temperataure was 88 degrees. What?! Not complaining because I didn't feel too sore or achy until about 4:30 tonight, but then it hit like a ton of bricks. I got over it, went to Wal-Mart and got the boxes for dad. We're going to need more for his other stuff that he wants to keep, his personal things, that we need to pack and put in our basement. I told him he could put is private things in a box and we'd seal it, and no one would open it. It was safe. I know dad talked to Pam last night, but he won't tell us everything that was said. He told me he just left her a message, but then later he told me she was upset that dad was moving to GI, because "What am I gonna do?" Who gives a flying flip what she does? She sure as hell didn't care what dad was going to do when she took off and left dad with everything. I even told dad tonight to forget the bankruptcy. Let Pam take all the debt, hire a lawyer, and get it done. Stupid bitch. What am I going to do... I can tell her a few things she could do. I'm getting to the point that I'm not even mad at her anymore I just want her gone, bye-bye, so long, sayonara... Of course if she blew away, I wouldn't feel too bad. I'm going to start calling all the creditors next week and giving them her information. Let her answer some calls for a change. I need to get some sleep. Already took the Ambien.... Night for now...