Friday, March 4, 2011

Can I Be Old Now?

I sat down to blog because it was on my to-do list. My list of things that just HAD to get done today is long and I've been powering through them for the last few hours. But then I discovered that two of my dear readers/encouragers/friends had written such nice responses to some of my recent blogs that I had to read them and rejoice over their kind words. So now I'm farther behind!

It has been another frightfully busy week here. Next week should not be so bad. But some of that may be because I'll be living on vicodan and not able to go anywhere. Whatever it takes, I guess!

Well, the big news is that Will bought his first car last night. It's a '99 Ford Contour with 93,000 miles on it. He actually bought it from a student up at Faith. Paul found the ad on Craig's List at 3:30 in the morning one day this week when he was up stoking the fire. And then he got me out of bed because he couldn't figure out how to respond to the ad! But because we have a history with the college and Paul is friends with the VP there, whom the car's seller goes to church with as well, she saved the car for us. Now, unfortunately it is still sitting there because it needs a new alternator and possibly a battery. So, I'm not sure exactly when we'll get it down to our house. I called our insurance lady and it won't be officially insured (and eligible for free towing) until she gets my $85 check next week. Our insurance is shooting up to $215 a month with this car. That's gonna hurt. But, Will is excited and I can't help but remember, as I posted on Facebook this morning, his history with cars. I remember when he was a baby - not even a year old, and he would look out our apartment window at the cars driving by below and call out, "Vroom!" That's what he called cars for quite awhile. And then he had his beloved set of matchbox cars (woe to any of us if he couldn't find one!) and then I vividly remember him jacking his riding vehicles up in the air and sliding underneath them to work on them, just like Daddy.

And now he's gone and bought his own car - kind of a bittersweet moment because it's another step of maturity and independence.

Last week Paul shot a squirrel in our front yard. There was something wrong with it - broken legs or it was sick or something. I wasn't home, but when I did get home, Sam excitedly told me how "Dad shot the cwerl!" I told him, "Yeah, there was something wrong with it. Dad was trying to help him out." Sam looked at me for a moment and then said, "No, Dad just wanted to shoot something." Well, he might not be too far off on that!"

I visited a new dr. this week. He's kind of in the middle - both holistic and traditional. I like him. He sent me in for an ultrasound yesterday on my kidneys because of the continual pain I've had for months now. I sure hope this is no big deal.

I spent yesterday afternoon with an older lady from our church. I really like her. She's been urging me to come visit her for months and I have really wanted to. I'm so glad I did. Her husband is in a nursing home now and, thanks to a number of strokes, is not who he used to be. Because of that, my friend is grieving and for the first time, all alone in her house. What I like about this friend, though, is that she is genuinely interested in me. She reads all my stories and always wants to know what I have planned to write next. So many older people I know always seem glad to talk to me but their interest, I feel, is just to have a pair of listening ears while they expound on all their aches and pains and the high cost of prescriptions as they age. And there is nothing wrong with talking about that, but friendship involves give and take and actually listening to the other person and what they have to say. So, anyway, it was enjoyable for me and I want to go back soon.

This week Sam was singing Chis Tomlin's song, "Indescribable" in the van. It was so cute! I don't only listen to Christian music, though, so I guess I should be thankful he wasn't belting out some of the other music he has also been exposed to! And I know he's listening because he asked me, "Who dis song about?" His little mind is definitely going!

Hey, guess what? I scored another FW win! I was so surprised! My most recent story got 4th place in my division and 10th overall, so I'm getting published again! I wrote about a young wife who's husband is dying. You can read it here: http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level4-previous.php?id=38791 My stories about death and betrayal seem to be the most popular ones! Nobody likes my sunshiney stories - apparently I do macabre and morbid better than happiness! I also was notified yesterday that my story, "Road to Reconciliation" that I wrote in Dec. about a wife who struggles to forgive her sister after she has an affair with her husband (the wife's husband, not the sister's husband) is going to be the Featured Spotlight on the FaithWriters home page the week of March 14. What an awesome birthday present for me! I'm so tickled!

Oh, and speaking of writing...Will told me that a paper he wrote for his class a couple of weeks ago got graded at 100%! He has come so, so far with his writing this year in that class. The teacher is having the kids do all sorts of different writing and Will doesn't even complain anymore! It has been well worth the money.
This week he is interviewing his football coach for his writing assignment. Apparently, this really touched his coach. He thinks so much of Will, anyway.


Last Sunday night in church Sam was eating out of snack bag and he stuck a stick pretzel partway into his mouth and announced out of the other corner, "I 'moking!" (smoking). Paul and I just cracked up right there. I think we were shaking the whole pew!

Well, my big article comes out this Sunday! I'm trying to not get too excited...but, it is pretty thrilling!

Oh, and I managed to find a couple more clothing items I actually liked this week. I flipped through a Younkers mailer that came last week and immediately found two shirts that "spoke" to me (ok, that sounds corny - but they were "me"!). So I went out there this week and found the ones I had marked in the catalog right away. Anymore, I just don't care about sales. It's so difficult to find what I want and in the sizes I need, that when I do find it, I'm going to buy it. I think I'm set for summertime now, other than some capris and sandals I still need. What a relief! And what an indication that I think way, way too much about my outward appearance!

I have got to start breaking these blogs up. My readers are going to fall asleep before they hit the end. I've just been so busy lately, that I store it all up and then explode it onto my keyboard, which results in these frightfully long posts that are all about me, me, me!

One victory I did have this AM. I'm dealing right now with Medicaid in trying to get reimbursement for all the driving I have to do for Ben and his many, many appointments. I could have been doing this for the past 14 years, but didn't know about it until the last year. It's so nice how they are upfront with you about all you can get! Well, I got it done for Jan and it wasn't really a problem. But then I tried to do it in Feb and I was told that rules had changed and I had to get out of county approval from everywhere Ben needed to go. And then the therapists weren't faxing back the request forms so I couldn't "book" the trips. And then I found out that the transportation company hadn't even faxed the requests. I was just ready to throw my hands up in the hair and say, "forget it!" It's too much mental stress and frustration! But then I did get a reimbursement this week for January's trips and it was almost $60, which made me want to pursue this a little more, especially with the escalating gas prices. So, anyway, today I got a knowledgeable staff person on the line and we got it all straightened out, thankfully. I have Ben's March trips booked now and I don't have to do this again for another 4 weeks.

Paul stayed up until 12:30 this morning priming the new bathroom walls. He is wanting me to get the gray paint on today. But I just don't know if I am going to have the time. I want to because I know he is SO stressed right now with this house and some side jobs that need to be done, the new car, and right now our finances because his regular work is quite slow (his paycheck today for the last two weeks was $204!) and I want to help out in any way possible. I'll do what I can. I don't have anything planned tonight so maybe I can do it then.

So - another busy week in the life of a madwoman. You do what you gotta do. But I have to be honest - looking ahead to the rest of my life, I am really anticipating old age, when I might have a quiet house and hours that stretch before me. I know that will have its challenges, too, but right now, it's sure appealing!

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