Memorial Day Reflections

My son will turn 16 this week, and of course, he can’t wait to get his drivers license. Mom is not so thrilled. I dread watching him leave the driveway for his first solo drive. Can I just delay it for a few more years?  

Just this morning, I read in the paper about a young man who apparently was driving too fast and wrecked his car. He died in surgery Saturday. I know his grandmother. My heart goes out to the family. I didn’t know the young man, but reading about his accident hit me hard. That could be my son in a matter of days. Teenagers all think they know how to drive, they think they have more control than they really do. They forget that a car can be a weapon. I can only hope and pray that we have taught my son how important it is to drive responsibly.

Three days after my son turns 16, my mom turns 72. She is doing well with her physical therapy, although she finds that some exercises can be really painful. She says she has been good, and even though she is allowed to drive now, she hasn’t been running all over town. I’m glad to hear it!  

Today is Memorial Day, and I want to join many others in thanking the veterans for all they have done for us.  Thank you for the sacrifices you made for America.  Thank you to the current soldiers who are also making sacrifices for America, for our freedom.  God bless you all!

The Thunder Rolls...

Storms rolled through yesterday, dumping some much needed rain in our area. Hubby's rain gauge collected 2.7 inches. I don't mind the rain, but thunder and lightning forced me to unplug the internet for the day.

We had plenty of other "thunder" throughout the week, too.  

My father-in-law's Alzheimer's is progressively getting worse. His wife reached her limit last week, after he jumped in the truck and disappeared for the third time in one week. Apparently they had argued and so he just left. She called Hubby, not knowing what to do. His father had told her he was going to get his job back. We decided we should probably call his last place of employment and warn them, not knowing if he would be belligerent if he actually showed up there. A little while later, my sister-in-law called Hubby. His father was at a different former workplace. The receptionist there realized something wasn't right, and when she asked to see his cell phone, my father-in-law handed it over - that's how she found us. She kept him there talking (which he loves to do) until Hubby could get there. Turns out that was the third time in a week that my father-in-law had been there. The first time, he managed to get clear to the roof where construction was being done. The second time, he got back into the plant. The third time, the receptionist waylaid him.  Now she has our numbers so if he shows up again, she'll call. Hubby and his brother talked to their dad, trying to get through to him that he can't just walk into places like that. They offered to follow him home (to another town) but he refused. He assured them he could find his way home. He did.  

But his wife now thinks it's time to explore nursing home options. She invited her daughter and my Hubby to visit a local nursing home with her. Hubby was convinced she was ready to be done with his dad. But she quickly realized how expensive it would be. She backtracked and said she was only exploring what is out there "just in case". They suggested she look into having someone come to their house a couple times a week, in order to give her a break from being my father-in-law's only caretaker. We think (we hope) she finally sees the wisdom in that. My father-in-law is very confused at times, but physically he's in good shape. He may be going downhill but he hasn't hit the bottom yet.  

Daughter raced again Friday night. She knocked more time off her qualifying round, made it to the feature, and got paid at the end of the night. On the way home from the track, one of her trailer tires blew and by the time she got home, she was riled up. Everything costs money she doesn't have. Well, yes, we've been trying to tell her that but she wouldn't listen. Hubby and I just bit our tongues - there's no point even trying to discuss things with her when she's mad at the world. 

Into every life a little rain must fall...

It's a good thing I bought new rain boots!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day Eve and here I sit at home with my hubby...and no kids.  I'm feeling kind of lost, in a way.

Daughter is out with her boyfriend at a stock car race (she's not racing tonight), and won't be home until the wee hours of the morning.  Thank God for cell phones - I will be able to go to bed at a decent hour, knowing she will text me when they leave the track so I don't have to worry until I know they are on the road.  The bad part of that is they're 2+ hours away!  

Son is staying over at a friends house.  I was unaware the family was having a cookout until I dropped him off, but I told him on the way there that I did not want he and his friend out cavorting - meaning I know his friend just got his drivers license and they don't need to be out driving!  Son assured me they wouldn't be going out.  Famous last words.  After dinner, Son texted me to ask if it was ok if they went to a movie.  My immediate reaction was NO!!!  He does not need to go to town with a new driver, on a Saturday night which just happens to be graduation weekend at the university.  No, no, no!!!  But then he tells me there is a group of them going, girls in one car (I should have known!) and he and his friend in the other.  This discussion could no longer be had via texting.  I called and voiced my displeasure with this plan, but I was between a rock and a hard place.  He's spending the night with his friend, and the friend and other friends/relatives wanted to go to the movies.  I WANT to say no, but that means I might as well go get him and bring him home because the others obviously have already been given permission by their parents to go.  I finally consented with the stipulation that he text me when they got to the movies, and again when they return home.  

At least he asked before he went out, and I am grateful for that.  He has been really good about letting me know what they are doing when he's been with other friends.  I really shouldn't complain.  But instead of enjoying a nice, quiet evening with my family, I'm watching the clock and battling frustration and worry.  This is not how I planned to prepare for my Mother's Day! 

I've learned that just because I have one adult child, it does not make loosening the parental strings on the second one any easier.  Can I make them be little again?  Yes, I know I yearned for them to grow up, to see the people they would become - and to be proud of who they are.  But it's times like these that I really want them to be little again.  At least back then I knew where they were, who they were with, and what they were doing.

God, please keep my children safe as they explore the world without me.  

And Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! 

Internet Withdrawals

My internet was down for four days this week. Four days!!!

Tuesday evening we had storms, and it was not unexpected for the internet to be down.  Normally, our internet provider has a recorded message anytime service is out, letting their customers know how long they expect it to be down. But Tuesday night, there was none. I left a voice message to let them know we were down.

Wednesday evening, I called back and left another message. Nobody had bothered to call me back and our internet was still down. I wanted to know when it would be back up. After all, I pay for this service. A service tech called me back, apologizing for overlooking my call on Tuesday night. I apologized for leaving a terse message. He said everybody else was back up and we should be too, so he would look into why we weren't and call me back. He never called back that night.

I am not the most patient person at times. So I called again Thursday morning. My tech was not yet there (he works the later shift), so I called again when I got home and the internet was still down. My tech had not been able to find anything wrong but he walked me through a few things on my end to see if we could find the problem. He finally decided my radio had gone bad. He said someone would be out our way on Friday, so he would have them stop by and replace our radio. I thanked him and apologized again for being terse. I admitted I was just frustrated not having my internet, and he said he understood.

Friday morning, Hubby called me at work to say the tech had called and he was on his way, but it didn't matter. Hubby had found my problem, and I felt I owed my tech guy another apology. Critters had chewed through the wires running from my radio to my house. The very critters that we love to watch - squirrels, rabbits, ground squirrels. We feed them every day, and this is how they repay me?  

Apparently the birdseed, corn, and sunflower seeds we fill the bird feeder with every day are not enough. The squirrels and ground squirrels are fat and sassy from eating there. Some food gets knocked to the ground as they stuff their fat little cheeks, and the bunnies do their best to clean it up. Why would they want to chew wires?

I'm ashamed to admit I was acting like my teenagers, distraught over being disconnected. I was not being a very good role model. But the internet is addictive, and I was having withdrawals. (Yes, I know I'm making excuses.)

I guess I'd better find some more tasty food for my critters, or else I need to slather my wires with something definitely NOT tasty!