The Old Days

The other night The Boy asked his dad, "Dad, did you ride a horse to school when you were a little boy?"

We started laughing hysterically.

MFH looked at me and I said, "Don't look at me! I'm the one that had to walk to school in deep snow for three miles uphill both ways!"

Oxymoron

I work in the beautiful downtown district in the city.

Unfortunately, the bus depot is also downtown. Not in my direct vicinity, but I suppose the vagrants just wander around having a look about town.

They have no qualms about walking up to people and asking for money.

Am I going to open my purse and take out my wallet? That makes me just a wee bit uncomfortable.

Back to the title, and the phrase "spare change".

There is no such thing.

All of my money is spoken for.

Just look at the gas gauge on my car.

The House of Pain

J.immy went home with a knee injury. Rumor has it that he wants to come back already, and rehabilitate the knee here. He's out until the end of October. Maybe he shouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave just last week? We'll see what happens with that one.

N.ick came here with a shoulder injury that he has been rehabilitating. It is now damaged to such a degree that it warrants surgery. His mom wants him to go home for that, and he'll possibly return in January after he is healed.

T.revor went to the ER last night after getting hit in the cheek with an errant puck. He has a two inch crack on his lower jaw. He's out until the end of October.

We feel jinxed.

Invincible

The hockey team went on a camping trip last weekend.

The coach, for some reason (probably because they are all boys between the ages of 15 and 20), went through their backpacks.

Four of the boys tried to smuggle in beer.

They will not be suiting up for the season opening games next weekend.

How did they think they'd get away with that?

Let me 'splain

I still have my old job, but on a different level.

I no longer do their accounting, but I am monitoring the books and consulting as needed.

And I am finding errors. Lots of them, that I then have to track down and fix.

The lady they hired does not have an accounting degree, but neither do I. I have lots of classes, and 31 years of experience in the field. She is one year older than me, and has been doing accounting for the last 16 years - spending about three years at each place, but that has nothing to do with her ability to do the job.

She is making elementary errors. For instance, a client comes in and pays for a large product in advance of the delivery. The payment is documented on their account. When the product is delivered and the purchase agreement is entered for the sale, she is entering the payment again instead of offsetting the purchase to the payment that is sitting on account. When it comes time to do the bank reconciliation, her cash is way off and she doesn't know why. That's where I enter in - to find why, and fix it. Each and every customer. But, she is inconsistent even in this. Sometimes, not often, she enters the transaction correctly.

Could I just tell her where it is, and have her fix it? Yes. But then she fixes it incorrectly, making twice as much work for me.

Should my boss let her go?

I don't know. I don't know if her errors are lack of training on our system, or lack of knowledge.

I should add that I have spent hours and hours writing up processes for her, and she has spent hours and hours with the company that sells the software, and trained me how to use it years ago. I email, talk, and spend Saturdays with her as need be. I am accessible all of my waking hours.

I am still full time at the burger corp, where we have people quitting and/or looking for new jobs left and right.

And, I have been referred for a position just a few miles from my house, in the same capacity that I left behind at my old job that is still my old job.

Where I could possibly do some of the work from my home.

We have two extra mouths to feed, and two teenage boys that have a lot of laundry. Yes, I do the laundry because we are on a cistern and I conserve water as much as possible. I could tell them to wash a full load rather than one pair of their favorite jeans, but there is no guarantee they would do it. I am finding that the listening problem we experience with The Boy carries on well into young adulthood.

I have very little free time - to keep up with you people, to relax, to spend quality time with MFH and The Boy. Hockey starts October 1 - Tues., Thurs., and Sat. - about two hours each day if you count travel.

I am simply spread too thin.

Imagine that

It's not the holidays.

It's not that The Boy is so excited about Halloween, when he plans to be a "Ninja".

It's not even the commercialization by the W.almarts of the world.

It's me.

I'm completely and totally burned out. I have not the time or the energy to do it.

I gotta fix that.

Holidazed

I have always loved holidays.

All of them.

I have boxes of decorations under the stairs, many of them thanks to my MIL, who is very crafty and loves holidays as much as I do.

I am the person who squeals with delight when I hear the first Christmas carol, and tunes into the station on S.irius that plays only holiday music beginning the day after Thanksgiving.

I couldn't wait to become a mother and instill that love into my child.

Now?

I groaned two weeks ago when, while doing our Wal.mart shop, The Boy discovered the Halloween section.

Baby teeth

I HATED the dentist when I was a child.

As a result, I began taking The Boy with me to my cleanings when he was very young so that he could see what it was all about, and not be afraid. We started having his teeth looked at and cleaned when he was three years old.

The Boy had a child's cleaning yesterday. At 6 1/2 years old, he still hasn't lost any baby teeth. I thought that was odd, but the dentist didn't think anything of it. Not that I mind - the gaping holes I don't mind so much, but the big teeth that come into those tiny mouths? There is no homelier time in a child's life. It seems to take forever for their faces to grow into those permanent teeth.

The Boy has perfect teeth. He has never had a cavity, and they are perfectly straight. I asked the dentist, with crossed fingers and toes, "Do you think his permanent teeth will be as beautiful as his baby teeth?"

"There are no guarantees," he replied.

Of course not.

And then there were two

One of our players went home today.

When his parents brought him here, they told me he has a girlfriend at home who "is no good". They've been dating on and off again for two years. They're on when she wants to be and off when she wants to be with other guys or doing other things. His parents were hoping his coming here to play hockey would be the deal breaker.

His parents are well-to-do, so he is privileged, and he is an only child.

He is 18, and it's his first time away from home - the same as if he had gone away to college.

The other two players who live here are good friends of his, one from home, and the other from a previous time in his life.

Last week he came home limping and said he suffered a knee injury. He had doctor appointments with x-rays and was talking about surgery. As the weekend came and went, his limping disappeared but he kept insisting he was in pain. He said he was too sick to go to practice this morning.

When I came home tonight there was no sign of him anywhere in the house. He left a voicemail thanking us, but more importantly, saying goodbye to The Boy.

The other boys came home and said that his girlfriend wanted him to come home. They tried to talk him into staying.

I have a feeling he'll experience some real pain somewhere down that road.

PT

I am currently having physical therapy on my neck as a result of my car accident.

It's been two months, and I still have this annoying pain in my neck, literally, ALL.THE.TIME.

The doctor determined I have lost range of motion.

I'm so glad he's trying to get it back for me, but why does he have to make it hurt so bad in order to make it better??????

It's a wonderful life

I am worried about MFH.

It could be nothing more than a mid life crisis of sorts.

He wants to sell his boat because we only used it three times this summer. It's paid for, and I know three times isn't much, but it's better than not at all.

He also wants to sell his hunting guns because he doesn't use them.

Our neighbor just got back from a week long bow hunt, and brought home a beautiful big bull elk. (Beautiful if you like that kind of thing. Personally, I think they are more beautiful in their natural surroundings than hanging on my wall, but that's just me.) MFH commented that he realized "that will never be me."

I told him that if he needs to do that, then he should. By all means, realize your dreams if you have them.

I guess at 41 his life is not all he wants it to be. I don't think it's my fault, because I know the only happiness I can be responsible for is my own. Part of it is the cut in pay he took when we moved here, when that wasn't supposed to happen. Part of it is that parenting is hard - The Boy is closer to me than his dad, and I suppose that wasn't supposed to happen either - but only he has the power to change that. And, we are slow to make friends here. Friends have always been important to MFH. We have lots of acquaintances, but that is different than friends. I don't have an answer for that one.

Maybe we suck?

Anyway, his mother called last night VERY worried about him wanting to sell his boat. It's no secret that MFH loves to fish, probably more than anything else. We haven't spoken about their conversation, nor do I want to pry, but I suspect she blames me. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I just hope he can make it better.

The Thinking Chair

The Boy's teacher sent home a list of classroom rules for the parents to go over with their children. The child and parent both had to sign and date the contract.

The rules are pretty basic: don't speak with your voice above a whisper, keep your hands and feet to yourself, no running in class or the hallway.

The first infraction in a day is a warning. A second problem warrants a trip to The Thinking Chair. If there is a third occurrence, she will call the parents.

First grade has been going very well for The Boy. He likes school, even though he was separated this year from his best friend and partner in crime from Kindergarten, and his work is neat and accurate.

When I picked him up at my mom's on Wednesday, he told me he got sent to The Thinking Chair and that I would have a call from the teacher. "I used my voice above a whisper twice after I was warned," he explained.

Indeed, there was a voice mail when I got home. I returned her call on my way to work Thursday morning. She was very apologetic, using the Teacher 101 introduction of "I like to call when things are positive, but......." and proceeded to tell me that she is just following up on her rules of two infractions, call the parents. I asked what he did and she told me he spoke with his voice above a whisper.

She seemed surprised when I told her that The Boy told me what happened and that I could expect a call from her. I told her "One thing he does not do is lie to us", that we talked about tomorrow being a new day and a chance to do better. I thanked her for keeping in touch with us.

The Boy is probably rarely going to have a day without a warning. That's just the way he rolls. He has such an exuberance about him, and it's one of his characteristics that I love the most.

At least he wasn't the boy that got in trouble for shaking his naked booty around the bathroom earlier that same day!

More than I want to know

My supervisor is in a bad relationship.

They have been together three years. She desperately wants to be married and have children. He says things have to be "perfect" before that will happen.

She confides in me alot. It makes me uncomfortable, but I realize she probably doesn't have anyone else to talk to. She has a lot of friends, but they know her outside of work and I'm guessing she doesn't want them to know, even though they probably do know.

So, I listen to her.

He is needy. He is verbally and mentally abusive. He isn't physical that I can see.

When she came in today I could tell that she had been crying.

She recently asked me, "How do you know when enough is enough?"

I said, "I can't answer that question for you."

But just the fact that she asked it gives me hope that she is close to realizing it for herself.

Are you my mother?

I love my kittens.

I was hoping they would bond with me like Boots did. Itty was very elusive and didn't seek much human contact. In fact, he was just ornery (interpret: mean). He came around only if he was hungry or needed an arm to use as a chew toy.

Miss Kitty (GiGi) and Stinky are very personable. I have never had a female animal before, and I must say that GiGi is about as sweet as sweet can be. She is my lap cat.

When Boots disappeared, I feared I would never again have a bed buddy. Boots slept on my pillow with me. Itty was nowhere near the bed, preferring to sleep on the dog's bed.

I hit the jackpot with these two. GiGi sleeps curled up near or across my neck and Stinky sleeps wrapped around the top of my head. Throughout the night he will wake me by sucking on my hair in just this one spot. Every night.

He was three months old when we adopted him, so I'm not sure what that's all about, except they never did separate the babies from their mother. Perhaps she was still nursing?

Imagine how frustrated he must be!

Going well

The boys have settled in. They are very nice and well mannered young men.

Meals are going well. They each gave me one idea for a meal for this week.

This year is already a million times better than last year.

I got a call yesterday from one boy's mom. He got hit hard in the jaw at an exhibition game Saturday night and she wanted to see if I thought it was broken. He felt it was out of alignment and he was in pain, but he did eat breakfast.

She then mentioned that T.revor has a rash. He has very sensitive skin, and needs to have his things laundered with detergent that is dye and fragrance free.

He's been living here a week.

Don't you think that's something I should have known right away?