debbiejoy

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:56:08 GMT

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Not dealing well with a number of things: Rickie's mom, Rickie's sister, Rickie's niece, Rickie's great-nephews... I sense a theme.

Eilene is Eilene: cranky, bitchy and demanding. She doesn't--and never has--seen that other people have problems too, and they don't necessarily revolve around her. She's the kind of old woman that people avoid and say nasty things about. She's not pleasant, sees no joy in anything, and always looks for the worst in people...and then shares it with whoever's within earshot.

Barb just wants Rickie to take care of everything. When Rickie told her that her doctor didn't want her lifting and pushing her mom around for appointments, Barb just said, "Who's going to do it then?" While Barb was in Florida and needed to borrow money from Eilene she told Rickie to do it...and take care of all the paperwork. Funny, she was on a phone and Eilene has a phone next to her chair. This is Barb and the way she's always been. I don't care that she has to use her days off to run Eilene to appointments. I only care that Rickie's health isn't compromised by Barb and Eilene using her.

Our niece Heidi is in the County jail. She was in the Wayne County jail for the past couple of weeks, and was moved locally a couple of days ago. She can't get ahold of her sons (Cody and Trent) because they don't have phones, so we're expected to accept six and seven collect calls from the jail each day and pass on information to the boys. We accepted one call...now we're screening. After Isabella County we don't know where she'll be sent. We know she's wanted in at least seven other Michigan counties, Ohio, Texas and Nevada. She wants us to visit--the jail's only a couple blocks from our house--and I won't do it. I'm so fucking tired of all the drama!!!

Cody and Trent are staying with their uncle Jon (who's only a few years older than Trent) and his wife, Deanna, and their two kids. They don't pay any rent, eat all their food, bitch about Deanna, and don't contribute in any way. When they do have money they waste it on pot and then eat all the snacks that Deanna bought for her own kids for school. Cody is actually staying between their house and one of his friend's houses. He doesn't do anything there either. Deanna and Jon want them gone, but those two freeloaders are quick with the guilt trips. Also, when Jonny was younger he didn't have anyplace to live and their mom, Heidi, Jonny's sister, took him in and let him live with her and her family free for quite some time. Of course they were all druggies at the time, had no electricity or heat, and stole whatever they wanted to eat, but I guess Jonny feels obligated anyway.

Anyway, this is the cause of my stress, and it lives way too close and knows our phone numbers. Dammit.

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:38:33 GMT

Trying to function around anxiety attacks. When the anxiety hits the nausea and nose-bleed level it's pretty much time for a Xanax intervention.

Rickie's family is like a very bad soap opera, only no one would ever watch it since it's so unbelievable. Between Rickie's mom, her niece, and her niece's kids I'm teetering on the brink. Add in my very demanding mom during craft show season and Rickie's sister who complains about everything but expects Rickie to fix it all, and I'm hanging onto the last little string on the unraveling rope. It wouldn't be so bad if I could ignore it all, but currently everything is right in my face...on the phone...showing up on the front porch...stopping to chat with us at the restaurant... And people wonder why I want to move!

As it is, we've unplugged the phone in our bedroom so that no one can wake us up for anything. We take a lot of rides, ocassionally hide out at a local lake, and screen a lot of our calls, but it all manages to find us anyway. The only saving grace is that we don't have to deal with all of this AND a teenage boy this school year. I'm grateful for that every single day!

I'm gonna take a Xanax, eat a couple of candy corns, and read my mystery until "Glee" is on at 9:00. And I'm not answering the phone for anyone!!!

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:20:02 GMT

I've decided I want to live in imaginary world. I just don't like real world anymore. Way too much crap going on, and way too much is expected of me. I want to crawl into myself for awhile...but only as long as I can bring Rickie with me. Oh, and Smudge, Gus and Festus too.

Rickie's mom went into the Medical Care Facility early this summer and it was decided--MUTUALLY--by Rickie, her sister and her mom that she couldn't go back home. So Rickie and Barb set out to check on local nursing and assisted living homes. They found one they really liked, called Eilene's nursing home insurance provider and were told that "they" were 99.9% sure that the insurance would pay for her monthly "rent."

Rickie handled all the paperwork, phone calls, medical transfers, etc. I helped both Rickie and Barb with the shopping because leaving the two of them on their own is terrifying--I mean, when shopping for curtains it's usually a good idea to know how wide and long the windows are and what, if any hardware is either in place or needed. Anyway... Barb and Jeremy moved the few things in that she was taking with her. Rickie arranged for her phone and cable to be transferred, and bought and arranged for delivery of her new lift chair.

The nursing home insurance Eilene has paid for for years will not cover this place after all. It'll cover some of the skankiest most tragic places in town, but not a nice, new facility with her own room, bathroom, etc. Eilene has enough money to live on very comfortably without using any insurance or medicaid for the rest of her life, but she paid for that nursing home insurance and DAMMIT, she's going to get her money's worth!

So, Rickie's on the phone for hours, spent over an hour doing paperwork at the new place this afternoon (which is nice, but not NEARLY as nice as where Eilene is now), and had to arrange for medicines, phone, cable, etc. all over again. We also get to spend Saturday--which is the day between our birthdays--moving Eilene from one place to the other instead of going to Shuyler's book store and out to eat in Lansing.

Eilene has spent the last two weeks asking, "When are you going to move me?" and, "Shouldn't I be moving soon?" However, when Rickie called and told her that we were all set to move her on Saturday she said, "That's before the end of the month. Why are you moving me already?" So, apparently it's all Rickie's fault (as usual) that she's "moving...already" since we can't tell her that Barb is having surgery next week to have a very suspicious lump removed. I feel scared for Barb, but everything's always Rickie's fault with Eilene. It's very frustrating for me, and, unfortunately, I'm not very sympathetic toward Barb or Eilene. Rickie's my priority, period.

Enough whining...

Kitten update: The kittens are seven weeks old. Two are gorgeous siamese, two are a warm smokey gray, and one is black and broken. For some reason the black kitten is the one Trinity insisted on torturing, and even though it made it past it's infancy, Trinity rode over it with her big wheel today and broke one of it's legs. I'm so ready to march down there and bring the poor little thing home, but Rickie and I agreed: no more cats. It's especially difficult for us though since we've had a number of black cats in the time we've been together, and our friends who work at the local pound told us that people don't like to adopt black cats. What the hell?!?!?! This little guy is so small, and so scared looking that my heart breaks everytime I see him. Hell, if I could find someone to take him and love him I'd pay for his leg to be set!!! It's all very disturbing to me. So, if you know of anyone who needs a little black cat--or a siamese or gray--let me know!!!

So, now that I've brought everyone down I'll go and finish the wash and pretend that I live in a happy place where kittens are loved, nursing and assisted living homes are all clean and bright, and I don't have an unhappy old woman calling every ten minutes with stupid questions that I have to smile and answer. Tra la la.......

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:42:32 GMT

Found all my Jimmie Spheeris CDs! Yay! Just finished listening to "Spheeris." God, the man was brilliant. Even after all these years of listening to his music I still get chills.

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:04:00 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMMFS9aVP2k

More Jimmie Spheeris. I'm a bit obsessed right now...I have all six of his CDs and can't find them!!!! :oO I'm starting to panic! Wanted to listen to them the other day on the way to Midland and Saginaw, but they're missing!!! Sob, sob, sob. All sorts of hoops had to be jumped through to get these CDs released at all, and then Sony reorganized and stopped production. The Bastards! Anyway, enjoy more Jimmie while I tear my entire music room apart...

One more...

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:06:57 GMT

Another Jimmie Spheeris I wanted to share. Such a beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvl5Wv2HaaA

Blown Out

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:55:32 GMT

My very favorite Jimmie Spheeris song is "Blown Out." I actually found it on YouTube and wanted to share it. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0-nZc4GADs

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:06:16 GMT

Feeling nostalgic today. In the past month or so I've seen too many of my high school friends, and with Katie dying it's really pulling me back. Anne was at my dad's party, saw Pam at the bookstore, trying to get ahold of Chris since I lost all of his info in my last computer crash... It's been strange lately. Can't quite seem to find my footing.

I'm reading a lot. Trying to immerse myself in other people's lives, different locations, some different times. Tracking down a lot of old music, too. And I can't seem to focus on any project right now, be it glass, organizing books and CDs, creating photo files. Just feeling adrift. Rickie, bless her heart, tries to keep me occupied, but finds herself drawn to Major League Baseball like a suicidal moth to a street light.

Think I need a little change of some sort. I'll figure it out...always do.

Anyway, enjoy the oldie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDosgkws0-c

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:22:16 GMT

Saw some friends this afternoon who volunteer for the local animal shelter. They also foster cats and come into town on Friday afternoons with cats to be adopted. Today they were at the bookstore and had two female cats with them that need homes. One of the kitty-girls was Sadie and she was 11 months old. Her former "owners" got rid of her because "she wasn't playful enough." :oO

The other kitty-girl may well be a pure-bred Himalayan. She's six years old and her name is Miss Lily. She had been kept in the room at the "shelter" where the animals were put to sleep for about a month. She'd stopped eating, weighed only 4 pounds, and her eyes were matted closed. Pam and Karen took her to their foster garage (they have 14 cats of their own in the house, and they've fixed the garage up for foster cats), nursed her back to health, and she's now ready for a forever home. She's quite the pretty little diva!

http://www.midmichiganadopt-a-pet.com/id53.html

If you go to the above site (I don't know if I set this up correctly) you can see all of Pam & Karen's adoptable kitties.

Lucas & Crystal

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:21:39 GMT

Lucas & Crystal, originally uploaded by debbiejoy2002.

Just to show that there are sweet kids out in the world who respect animals and know how to treat them well, I present Lucas and Crystal. He was holding her so gently, making sure she felt safe and secure, and even in the photo you can see that he's protecting her with his hands and not holding her down.

Eensy weensy kittens and 2 1/2 year old tank girls DO NOT MIX!!!

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:36:10 GMT

Our nephew and his wife live five blocks north of us. Their cat, Boots (who isn't even a year old yet...don't get me started) had five kittens a week or so ago. Brent is five. He's okay with the kittens, but I'd wish he wouldn't try to play with them so much since they're so very tiny. His best friend Lucas is staying with him for a couple of days. Lucas is six. Lucas has a boy cat whose name escapes me. Lucas told me how he has to scoop out the kitty box every morning with a baggie and a shovel, and how he has to take care of his kitty, and how you have to hold a kitty so it's not scared. He'd like one of Boots' more siamese looking female kittens too. He wants to name her Crystal and get her a pink litter box. He told me that then he'd have to have two baggies so he could clean both litter boxes. Lucas was so sweet and gentle with the kittens I thought my heart would break from all the cuteness!!!!!

Then there's Trinity. We call her Trins, Sister, or Lou. She's a 2 1/2 year old force of nature. Her dad, our nephew Jonny, doesn't care for cats. He told her to flush them, and thank goodness Deanna was home or she would have. She carries them around by the neck, the legs, and the tail. She sits on them. She throws them in the air and lets them land on the ground. She's a menace!!!!! Deanna keeps putting the kittens in she and Jon's bedroom, but Boots insists on hauling them all back into Trins room. We're all wondering if Boots WANTS the kittens to die!

While I was there taking pictures I was trying to explain--fairly loudly--that when the kittens squeak and mew really hard that means they're either scared or hurt. I asked Trinity, "You don't want to hurt the kitties, do you?" From the look on her face I'm thinking a whip and some tall black boots should be her next Christmas gift. I kept trying though, and finally I just said, "You're going to break the kitties. If you break them you can't play with them anymore." That stopped her...for a millisecond. I finally hauled all three kids back downstairs where they glommed onto their aunt Rickie who was holding the teeny weeny black kitten. Their huge pit-bull, Otis (O-dee-o), came running up to Rickie, sniffed the kitten she was holding, and ever so gently licked it's tiny head. Trinity tried to put a necklace on it.

When I could FINALLY pry the kitten away from Rickie I started to carry it upstairs, but Jonny insisted that Trins should take it up. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:13:28 GMT

I've been reading a lot of really, REALLY good m/m romance and gay mystery lately. I prefer titles in print format, but if I like an author I'll read whatever is available. I just finished reading an e-book by Z.A. Maxfield--"Drawn Together"--that was wonderful, but wrote her asking if it would become available at any time in print. While we were discussing her work, and that of an author favored by both of us, we wrote about music we enjoyed listening to. I told her about Casey Stratton, of course, and she recommended Matt Alber. If you have the chance, go to YouTube and pull up the video Matt Alber "End of the World." It's lovely!

Funny, when I pulled up Matt Alber on Amazon, "Standing on the Edge" was listed in the "Customers who bought this also bought" post. :oD

And if you like a great mystery with a little bit of romance, I strongly recommend ANYTHING by Josh Lanyon. He's a great writer, creates multi-dimensional gay characters, and has a lot of fun with a story. A personal favorite is the stand alone mystery, "The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks." Admit it, you need a fun--and smart--summer read!

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:22:31 GMT

We had a successful garage sale--over $500. Everything left over went to Goodwill or the garbage. Another small wave of stuff out of the house anyway. Way too much more to go, but we're slowly and surely getting there.

Had my dad's 75th birthday party at one of the City parks last Saturday. Over 200 people showed up. It was insane!!! There were so many musicians they had to set up on either side of the pavillion. We had two stages...I felt like Wheatland! Everyone seemed to have a great time, and a lot of people stopped as they were leaving to tell me how wonderful the party was. I was mostly glad it was over! My dad was in the dark until the day before when mom picked up 15 dozen rolls, but until he got to the park on Saturday he had no idea of the scope of the whole thing. He had a great time, cried while he was saying the blessing, and got to play his guitar and mandolin with both groups. He was so wound up after the party he didn't go to bed until after 11:00 (my folks are generally in bed by 9:00) and was awake at 4:00 a.m. I took over the 100 photos I had for him the next day and stayed to look at all his cards. As you can probably imagine considering the crowd, most of his cards were musical. :o)

Fits and starts

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:20:51 GMT

I want to thank everyone who expressed their condolences about my friend Kate. Your thoughts and prayers meant a lot to me.

We've had a very strange month. One week our car wouldn't start, our nephew, Jeremy, fell through the attic floor/hallway ceiling, we lost three rooms of electricity, and we had a flood under the sink. We still have to repair the ceiling upstairs, but we replaced the starter in our van, got a new neutral (?) for the wiring, and had all the plumbing and fixtures replaced in our kitchen sink...within five days of each other.

Within two days of returning from Florida Cody stayed all night with his brother (who had a warrant for his arrest) and was arrested at 6:00 a.m. when the police charged in for "harboring a fugitive." Four days later he awoke to his sister's boyfriend ODing (he's home now). We'd been "asked" to "loan" money three times by two different people that week, but absolutely refused. Cody's sister managed to find bail money for him (after two calls to us), and another niece was able to get the money she needed for who knows what somewhere else also. This bank is closed!

I've been eating like a mad woman and have managed to gain all my weight back, but Rickie assures me that we'll be back to nutritious eating next week...dammit. When I eat Hagen Daz ice cream I do happy little dances around the house. Carrots do not inspire me to dance.

I had a holly bush to replace and ended up picking up the holly and a couple of other shrubs and plants. Then I had to put everything in the ground, feed and water it. I don't know what strange impulse urges me to buy plants. I abhor gardening! I don't like dirt, and bugs crawling on me puts me in a really cranky mood. And yet I keep on drooling over shrubery like I was a botonist in another life.

I absolutely lost my mind last week when I decided to have a garage sale on the 19th. Of this month. I've been hauling boxes, clearing book shelves, going through CDs, and emptying cupboards. I know I won't make it through the basement, but I'm going to go through as much as I can before next Thursday night. I'm an idiot. I HATE garage sales.

My mom decided to have a surprise birthday party to celebrate my dad's 75th birthday on June 27th. In a pavillion. In a park. She's sent out over 100 invitations...that I made. This week the party is still a surprise, but she'll tell dad a day or two before the party because she'll need him to do stuff. Not only did my mom decide to have a surprise party for my dad who HATES big parties (not to mention surprise parties), but she's going to make him work alongside my brother and me to get everything set up before the guests arrive and he's "surprised."

I'm not wishing away my days, but I'm so looking forward to July!

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:46:52 GMT

Rickie and I drove down to Florida last week. Our friend Kate's cancer came back for the third time and she wasn't doing well. I sat with her in the hospital on and off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then we drove down to St. Cloud to visit our niece and her family for two days. Before we left for home I called Kate's husband and he told me she'd passed away Friday night.

I can't even begin to explain how fortunate I feel that we made it down in time to see her. Whatever anyone believes, we were truly guided through every step of this trip. We decided to go on the spur of the moment, and when we mentioned it to our nephew, Jeremy, he said he'd like to go down and stay with his sister before he enlists in the military later this summer. He drove almost all the way down and back! When we got to Leesburg on Sunday we were waiting at a corner gas station for Heather and Chin to pick Jeremy and Sarah (his girlfriend came too) up to drive them down to St. Cloud. The gas station was right next to the hotel we were planning to stay in and we could see that the place was a dump! We ended up driving back to The Villages and staying in a Comfort Suites...which ended up being one block from the hospital Katie was admitted to on Monday morning.

Even though she was in a lot of pain, Kate knew who I was and chatted with me when she could all the time we were there. Mostly I let her sleep, rubbed her back, her feet, and her hands, and did little things like make sure her water was close enough to drink, and tried to get her to eat a little Jell-o or drink a little juice. It was obvious she was glad I was there.

On Wednesday night after we left she took a turn for the worse and by Friday morning she was starting to confuse who she, and other people were. She'd had massive infusions of blood and platelets while we were there, and was on Morphine and a cocktail of antibiotics.

It's a really strange feeling to lose my best friend. We were inseperable from the time we were 12 until we were 18. After that we drifted apart, but became really close again a few years later. She was someone I expected to share my life's experiences with until we were moldy oldies--little old ladies surrounded by cats and piles of collectibles. I still feel shock when I think, "My best friend is gone."

I feel so bad for her husband. He's a really low-key, laid-back kind of guy who lived just for her. Kate's mom and sister tend to be abrasive, and they don't give him credit for much of anything. Rickie and I were glad we were there just to tell him how strong and supportive we knew he'd been, how much Kate loved and depended on him, and how much we knew he loved her and was there for her. We KNEW that he wouldn't hear that from Kate's family down there. We're just hoping that one or two of his siblings were able to go down to Florida to be with him.

I don't believe in angels as beings related to God and the devil or angels and demons. I think of them as people who've lived and died on this earth, and have chosen to stay and watch over the people left behind who loved them and whom they loved. I talk to them, ask for help and strength when I or a love one need it, and trust them to guide me when I have trouble guiding myself. They were with me through this entire trip...from it's conception to our wild drive home with "Jeremy Andretti" behind the wheel. And when a really, REALLY old REO Speedwagon song came on the car radio--a song I hadn't heard in over thirty years--I knew it was from Katie. We spent many Sunday afternoon's in Warner Hall on the CMU campus in our HS senior year at REO Speedwagon free concerts. The song? "Roll with the changes."

Wed, 13 May 2009 05:39:39 GMT

Oooooooh! We just watched "Taken." It was ever so good. Lot's of action, and all the bad guys get dead. I love when all the bad guys get dead. Especially when I'm in a pissy mood...makes me feel all happy and evil-good.

Besides renting "Taken" I bought a copy of "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans." We saw it at the theater and loved it. It's not zombies, but werewolves and vampires are about the next best thing. I love new movie day!

Be careful what you ask for

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:30:37 GMT

Does anyone remember the 1967 movie "Bedazzled" with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook? I don't know about the remake, but the original is wonderfully funny. In it, Dudley Moore sells his soul to the devil (Peter Cook) to be with the woman he loves. Of course, every request is granted with a twisted and unwanted outcome leading Dudley Moore's character to be ever more specific with each request. These specifications take the viewer to one of the funniest scenes ever filmed: Nuns on trampolines trying to bounce to Heaven.

But I digress...

The point I'm trying to make, in my own convoluted way, is to always be careful what you pray for, bargain for, wish for, trade for, etc. You never know what karma's going to throw back at you.

Cody's living with his sister and her boyfriend. His brother's been hanging out there and he has warrants for his arrest. His mother was one of the three criminals featured this week on Fox 66 Fugitive Files. His father is currently in the county jail as opposed to serving a life sentence in Jackson because he acted as an informant. We, and Rickie's sister, Barb, have had some visits from the police this past year, and now we're getting calls from Bail-bondsmen.

Rickie's mom has been feeling puny, and finally convinced her doctor to put her in the hospital on Monday because "her stomach hurts." After numerous tests they can't find anything wrong--which is exactly what we expected--but she's taking up a hospital bed and expecting Rickie and Barb to be at her beck and call 24/7. (It doesn't help that Barb works in the ER of the same hospital.)

My mom keeps coming up with all these "awesome" projects and insists that I want to help her. Basically, she comes up with the idea, and all the work is delegated to me.

So, Cody's gone, but now a whole shitstorm of other wants, needs, and responsibilities has been thrown at us. We're running away on Thursday and Saturday, but you should have seen and heard the outcry these two little daytrips have caused. We're not that necessary. The world will turn and things will get done...it's just that for two whole days someone else will have to do them.

I'm just hoping the karma for two days off isn't too awfully horrible!

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:09:59 GMT

Cody moved out (mostly) on Saturday and picked up the last of his stuff yesterday. Of course, today Rickie had to drive out to the school to pick him up since he mouthed off and was expelled. I think we'll have a little of that for awhile, but at least our home is our refuge again.

We had a lot of guilt feelings about sending him to live with his sister, especially since bounty hunters keep banging on her door looking for their mother, and the cops keep surrounding the house looking for their brother. Obviously not the best environment, but we couldn't keep supporting him when he wasn't putting in any effort. He'd planned on hanging out at his sisters this summer--thanks for telling us--but we were still supposed to provide food, phone, internet service, clothes, laundry service, etc. We needed it all to stop. The guilt is balanced by a hefty dose of justification.

I've managed to gain back most of the weight I'd lost in only the last four months. Stress will do that to you! I'm trying to cut down a little every day so that I'll feel comfortable eating less and healthier...but first I have to finish off the last of the ice cream cake from Cody's 18th birthday last Friday. :oD

Great news! Casy Stratton is performing twice next week: Once in Lansing and once in Frankenmuth. We'll be going to at least one of the performances, but not sure which yet. We have some shopping to do in Lansing, but the coffeehouse in Frankenmuth makes killer Chai Tea. Decisions, decisions. Wouldn't it be just awful if we were forced to go to both!?!? :o)

Knowing when to say "enough"

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:57:35 GMT

When we took Cody in we agreed to take care of him, feed him, clothe him, drive him, spoil him, and love him. All he had to do was go to school and pass his classes. He's no longer in the regular Beal City high school as he failed his classes last semester. He's been going to the Beal City alternative school. He's failing there too. He's been lying to us about skipping, expects us to buy him a car as soon as he's 18 at the end of the month, and has been lying to his friends about his health just to gain sympathy.

We've been driving him to a doctor in Shepherd for his headaches, a counsellor in town so that his girlfriend's folks would let him see her, a chiropractor for his back, and a dentist. He gets an allowance even though he only helps with mowing the lawn and a small amount of snow shoveling. We make sure he gets to every school/friend event and cover any costs involved. All he had to do was go to school and pass--not with an A, but with a D- if necessary.

His friends are always welcome and if they don't have transportation we pick them up, drop them off, and make extra trips if they've forgotten something. We've made sure there's always food and drink for him and his friends, and Rickie and I have gotten used to eating in instead of dining out for most meals. Our computers are available to Cody and his friends, and they've taken advantage of our two larger screen TV's to hook up and play their games, "calibrate" (or whatever it is) their new computers, and watch our extensive DVD movie collection. We've bought pizzas for groups of kids, given gas money for hauling him around if they have cars, and provided extra cash for Cody to go out to eat or do things with his friends. All he had to do was go to school and pass his classes.

Honesty would have been nice too.

He's mad at us right now because some of his friends are mad at him for telling them that he had a month to live (long, ridiculous, dramatic, horrible story) and we told him that the situation was his fault and it was up to him to rectify it. He told us they didn't understand what he was saying, and when we still told him it was his fault he ran off to stay with a friend over spring break. And was back within three days needing money, food, pop, etc. etc. like nothing was wrong.

He's missed over three weeks of his tech class at the local high school and told us he only missed two days. He gets on the bus at alt. ed. and rides to the high school, gets off and walks to a friends house. He insists that he's doing his best in his alt ed class but goes in, falls asleep, chats everyone up, and hasn't even finished 1/2 credit, let alone the 4 1/2 he had to make up.

Alt. Ed. was his idea. He said it would be a snap, he could finish in no time at all, and he was tired of the bulls**t at the high school. Now he wants to go to the local alt. ed. because the Beal City alt. ed is bulls**t.

His girlfriend doesn't want to see him since he lied to her, but he thinks they're just on "a break." His best friend doesn't trust him anymore, and Rickie and I don't believe a word he says anymore either.

All he had to do was go to school, pass his classes, and not lie to us. We're retired and on a fixed income with no hope of a raise. When we got things for him we went without. We got up every morning to drive him to school in every kind of weather. We picked him up and went out of our way to drive his friends home. We love the kid, but we've had enough. He'll turn 18 on the 24th of this month and he's probably going to have to move in with his sister. Rickie and I have sacrificed a lot--it was our choice and we did it willingly--to have him just blow everything off. Our bargain was we'd take care of him as long as he went to school and passed his classes. We're tired of feeling like enablers.

We still feel a little guilty, but I'm sure we'll get over it.

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:30:16 GMT

The past two days have had that twilight zonish quality that I haven't really experienced in awhile.

Rickie and I were on our way to the grocery store and for no reason I started thinking about an ex-family member who I hadn't seen in about four years. While Rickie was off looking for something for her mom in the store I was checking out a few of the specials in frozen foods when a man said something to me. When I looked up it was the ex-family member. We had a nice little chat and I kind of laughed to myself thinking that I hadn't experienced that kind of synchronicity in quite some time.

Last night I had a dream about family members that we'd been trying desperately to get hold of for weeks (some have warrants out on them), but no one was getting back to us. These are Cody's immediate family: brother, sister, and mom. Today we heard from two different people (one was actually his sister) and got caught up as much as possible concerning what's been happening with all of them.

Rickie lost her glasses in December and had to spend 500.00 to have them replaced--she was planning on keeping the frames and replacing the lenses, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. Today Cody called--he'd forgotten his key...again--and he and three friends NEEDED something in the house. We were close enough that we swung by the house, and as we're unlocking the front door one of the boys hands Rickie a pair of glasses that he found on our front porch. :oO!!!!! Between the December, January, and February weather, and all the high winds we've been experiencing during those months, that light pair of glasses had never blown away. They weren't damaged at all, and we can't figure out how in the heck they got there. That porch is how we get in and out of our house, it only has two chairs and a small table on it, and even though there are railings, they're open and have a two inch gap at the bottom.

It's been an interesting couple of days. :oD

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:56:18 GMT

I was flipping channels tonight and came across an old movie favorite: "Phantom of the Paradise." If you've never seen it you're missing a fun, silly, campy treat. I first saw this movie the year it came out, 1974. Coincidentally, it was also the year I graduated. I'm so dated! It's just a goofy little "rock operetta" by Paul Williams and Brian de Palma that's loosely based on "Faust," but I loved it then and still love it now. Rickie and I have two songs that are "our song" and one is from this movie: "Old Souls." We still know all the words and sing along with the TV whenever the movie's on. I had it on VHS, and when it finally came out on DVD a few years back I bought it. I think I was one of the few people in America to buy the soundtrack in 1974, and once it was released on CD I bought that too. If you've never seen it you need to rent it and give it a try.

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:29:54 GMT

Rickie tried a new stew recipe last night. It had new potatoes, sausage, carrots, parsnips... I was not too awfully thrilled about the parsnips. I called my mom and told her that Rickie was forcing me to try parsnips and mom said, "Oh, parsnips are good! They taste like turnips!" And this recommends them to me why? But I tried them. Pretty good except the texture makes them tough to cut and chew. Maybe if they were sliced and prepared differently.

Sean stayed over last night and he and Cody played on the xbox and the computers all day. They took special delight in showing us stupid videos like "Jizz in my pants" and "What, what (in my butt butt)." They both seemed to like the stew so I'm not forced to partake of any more parsnips for the forseeable future. :o)

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:35:16 GMT

I have been reading. A lot. Mostly stuff with tons of M/M sex and very little plot, but it's fun and light and I don't have to think.

I've been under-the-bus sick with a sinus infection for the past week. I'm finally starting to feel like a human being again, but now Rickie is having big trouble with her lungs. She's been taking her breathing treatments two and three times a day, but she's still coughing her insides out. She's a very poor thing. On the upside, her cardiologist says that her heart is now "stable." See what retirement can do for you!

The "lovebirds" are in the living room watching a movie while Rickie and I lounge in the front room. I don't know what the kids are going to do when baseball season starts since Rickie will want the big TV for the Tigers...and I'm not planning to give up the TV in the front room. Of course, I don't watch too much TV regularly when the weather starts to get nice--that's when I relax with my mysteries on the front porch or the back deck.

The boy's in an alternative school now since he failed two of his four non-tech classes and had another half credit from last year to make up. Now we spend a lot of our time "harping on him" (his words) about getting everything done and making up all of his credits so that he can go back to Beal City in the fall, play football, and graduate with all his friends and girlfriends. He's a very NON-motivated kid, and even though Rickie and I are pretty laid back he's driving us crazy!!! And now he wants a car. A car. A car. A CAR! Of course, he's not trying to find a job to pay for it... Like I said, VERY non-motivated!

Hope you're all enjoying your Valentine's today! Mine's choking up a lung, but she's still pretty darned cute.

Why do teens think that all adults have the work "BANK" stamped on their foreheads?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:33:29 GMT

There are four teenagers--two couples--in my living room watching "College." The hormone levels are staggering. They wanted to go out to eat, but Rickie informed them we didn't have any cash so--surprise, surprise--they found food to fix here. It's amazing how much money we spend on "teen approved" food and drink every week and still have nothing to eat in the house.

The funniest part to us though is that we keep thinking, "If we throw money at them will they go away?" Isn't that horrible? But after a few hours of screaming, laughing, and teasing we'll do just about anything for an hour or so of peace and quiet.

This may be too much information... Rickie and I have had very little "intimate" time since the boy's been living with us. So earlier this week, in a desperate attempt to regain a little control over our personal lives, Rickie and I did a sound check between our room and Cody's. We did a lot of singing, talking, and giggling and the results were...you can't hear a single, blessed thing that goes on in our room if you're in Cody's room. I don't know how much it'll help us out--there's still the "somebody's in the house" factor--but at least we took that step to get some of our pre-Cody life back.

And can somebody PLEASE tell me what this thing is with teenage boys and the quest for a car! He points out cars for sale; tells us who of his friends just bought, or is selling a car, looks for cars online, ad nauseum. Last night he found a car online that's for sale locally for 2,990.00 and was so thrilled he had to point it out to me. I think I totally deflated his little car-lust balloon when I looked up and said, "And you're showing me this why?"

He seems to think we're going to buy him a car in April when he turns 18. (He doesn't have a license or anything and can't apply for one until then--heaven forbid he should waste his time taking driver's ed classes.) We MAY kick in up to 1,000.00--if we have it at the time--but we're not buying him a car unless he gets a job. And that's a whole other can of worms when dealing with a boy who has the ambition of a too-full sloth.

Oh, and I told my parents they were saints for putting up with and raising my brother and me to adulthood without throwing us to the fire ants or burying us in the basement.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drive to Wal-Mart just to enjoy the ambiance and peaceful atmosphere.

There's nothing like a teenager to make you feel older than dirt

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:58:11 GMT

We went out to dinner this evening with the kid. Rickie and he looked over at a wall mounted jukebox and agreed it was ugly. I said I liked the older "bubble" machines and Cody smiled and said that I obviously liked the CD machines better than the computer chip machines. I said that I liked the old 45 machines. He looked from Rickie to me blankly and said, "What's a 45?"