Changing my calendar

I have been having one of those months….and it’s not even over yet!

I have officially decided that I am deleting October from my Calendar next year. Between people who use me, and the people who abuse me, my emotions just can’t take another month like this.  And Yet, I know that my favorite month of the year, December, will be worse still! Why?? You may ask….Because this year, I will have nothing to look forward to Christmas day. Yes, I know this is only the middle of October, but with the situation with my daughter only escalating this past week, I will not be able to have any time with at least 3 really important people to me….3 of my grandchildren.  And I will not attend any family functions with my husband’s family. This would only remind me of what I have lost. My oldest grandson will get leave from the Army for about 2 weeks and I can look forward to seeing him for at least a couple of days.  The only people who would remember my birthday would be 1 son….my middle son; and maybe my oldest son along with all of my dear internet friends. But there won’t be any presents.

It won’t depress me much because I have decided that I can’t cry over this anymore.  From now on, I will go on and live my life alone if I have to.  I can decorate like I love to do, listen to my favorite Christmas Carols, address and send Christmas cards, and attend the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at the local church. I will plan and make Christmas dinner for my shrinking family and try to pretend it doesn’t hurt that my daughter has decided she no longer has any family besides her children.

I won’t hope for a reconciliation…I won’t wait for a knock at the door or the phone to ring. I hope it snows chin deep to a giraffe!

Do you think people would think I have lost it if I start decorating for Christmas the first of November??

But in the meantime, I did get out a Halloween costume….

 

What do you think? 

Why do I even bother?

I moved away from my family in Virginia to be with my grandchildren.

Now I can’t even have that. I went to football practice to see my grandsons, and they won’t even look at me or talk to me.  Because of something my niece said in a text message.  Something I have no control over.

I will go to the football games and watch the team.  I will go their banquet. And then, I will try to go on with my life without them….

If I sound depressed….I guess I am.  Now, I only have my internet friends to talk to…no one to hug me or tell me they love me….

Maybe when my grandson gets out of Basic training and comes home, he will come visit. I know he still loves me.

Now what did I do??

Don’t ask me how, But somehow I have managed to do it again. I have provoked the evil ugliness (formally known as my daughter).  I don’t know what I did to get her all riled up this time.

The County Fair  started a week ago and Saturday was the last day.  I went the first day i opened because it was the only free day to get in and my money has been tighter than you know what.  For the past several days, I haven’t felt well anyway.  I started getting a scratchy throat and then a cough which means I was headed for a nice case of a severe chest cold.  So I have been staying home as much as possible….

The only time I go out during the fair anyway is when it is absolutely necessary because as soon as you pull out of your parking spot, there is some vulture too cheap to pay for parking at the fair grounds, circling the block waiting to pull into your spot. That’s the down side about living a block away. It comes in handy during parades as I can see the beginning and the ending of the parade just by walking the length of my street. (of course usually the parades last 2 hours so I can’t see all of the parade twice.!)

Anyway, back to my story….My middle grandson, the 12 year old , called me about 4 and asked me if he could use my phone while he was at the fair.  You see, he is in middle school, and all of his friends have unlimited texting (and so do I) which seems to be the norm these days.  So I walk the phone over with the usual cautions; “Keep in in your pocket on the rides, don’t drop it, don’t lose it and don’t let anyone else borrow it….Call me on your uncle’s number when you are ready to go home and I’ll come get it”.  Then I go back home, rub some “Vick’s Vapor rub “ on my chest and under my nose and go back to bed. 

At about 8 p.m., the other vulture, known as “Starvin’ Marvin” (my youngest son) is circling the bed….He has decided it’s time for “Breakfast at Dinner time”.  He wants French toast until I inform him the one thing he didn’t buy was syrup, so I suggest fried potato and onions.  He says he’ll make bacon, eggs and toast to go along with that.  While I am downstairs cooking, I put a call into the grandson to see if he has any idea when he’s leaving the fairgrounds….He says when it closes at 10!  I remind him to call and go back to watching the potatoes.

When I don’t hear from him by 9:30, I start walking to the fairgrounds and put a call into my phone.  My grand-daughter answers….She says they are already at home and I should come there to get the phone….Now remember, I have been banned from entering my daughter’s house since graduation in June…It would be a stop out in the street for me.  The house is dark, but I can see the shadow of someone standing in the open front door.  My grand-daughter runs out and says “pretend you are handing me a chap stick.”  Uhhhh….Okay?!?

As usual, whenever my grandson uses the phone, the first thing I do when I get it back is delete all incoming and out going messages.  (have you ever tried to read over 20 messages sent between teenagers??) Then I notice my niece sent 2 messages while he had it… So I read them first  then delete them, and I read the reply that one of the kids sent back to her….This could be bad…Now, I am not saying my niece actually sent the messages, but someone using her phone did… Apparently, they ran into one of my grandsons at the fair and started talking to them.  My grandson did not recognize whoever it was, and they sent a text about my grandson being “alone” at the fair and talking to “strangers”; and how my “daughter” would really have a fit if she knew that.

So let me clarify this. My daughter took her 3 children to the Fair and dropped them off.  Two of them had cell phones, and when I took mine to the middle grandson, I told him to take the phone he had (a Safe-link) to the younger boy; so all 3 then had cell phones…in a place patrolled by policemen. I was not concerned for their safety, and apparently my daughter was not concerned either…..Why my niece (or family member) was is beyond me.

Anyhow, it stirred up a hornet’s nest.  The next thing I know, I am getting nasty messages from my daughter about “keeping her name out of my mouth” and “stay the hell away from her children-or else”.  I told her I had no idea what she was talking about….because, really, I didn’t!  I was at home, in bed, sleeping minding my own business! (Oh and by the way…my daughter would not let my grandson call home from my phone one day at football because she didn’t want me having her number!, and she sends me 2 messages from her number……)

I sent a message to my niece’s phone asking what had happened, and then I told her politely to keep her nose out of my daughter’s business because the only person that got hurt was me!  Now I can’t see my grandchildren! 

I am just hoping I can get through the next 2 weeks of football, and then the banquet in November without her calling the police on me for some stupid reason….

This probably just screwed up my chances of going to Kentucky in November to see my grandson graduate from Basic Training…..and I didn’t even do anything!!!!

At least my grand-daughter can message me from the phone she has that I pay for….but it may be a long time before I ever get to see my 10 and 12 year old grandsons outside of sports; in public places that she can’t prevent me from going….without a restraining order.

So here I sit….I can’t sleep…I have been up for over 2 hours after going to bed only 4 hours ago…..I need my friends!

Hugs and Love to all of you!

Am i mad or just upset???

What a crappy day….

I woke up with another headache, my hip hurting and the beginnings of a good old fashion chest cold…coughing, achy, scratchy throat….you know the symptoms.  So I go through my morning ritual….Let the dogs out, make coffee, go to the bathroom, feed the dogs and turn the computer on…..When my phone rings….Now it only rings when someone needs me to do something anymore….I don’t get the “Hello, I was just checking to see how you were today.” calls or invitations to go somewhere and do something….Mine are usually “What are you doing in 30 minutes? I need……” phone calls….A 10 minute ride turns into “well it could be an hour wait” and before you know it 2 hours are lost.

I still have not learned how to say no….

And of course to top that all off….it’s Friday.  My car insurance is due tomorrow….so after I run my husband the 28 miles to the Flea market and back, I head to the store with the $100 he gave me (to last 2 weeks!)…On the way there, my grand-daughter calls for a ride to work.  She is working in the dining Hall at the Fair this week for her Culinary Arts class in school….All volunteer work.

So I get to the store, paper in hand to pay the insurance, in a rush to get back to pick her up in time.  I get to the counter and pull the money out…..and somewhere I have lost $20!!!!! Great!!! To top that off, the idiot behind the counter taking my money can’t enter the account number in right and the 10 minute trip now is 20 minutes and I’m calling the company to make sure I know my own account number.

Now not only am I out $20 I was going to buy food with, but I’m angry, pissed off and in tears. 

The only highlight of today was getting to spend 10 minutes in the car with my grand-daughter…..

I’m going back to bed. 

A Modern Miracle.

Today is a dawning of a new day.

And for 33 men, their families and their countries, It is a very joyous day.  Seventy days ago, these 33 m3n were trapped over 2000 feet below the surface in a mine they were working.  The first miracle came after over 2 weeks when it was finally known that all 33 men were alive and safe. 

Then came another miracle.  Countries all over the world worked together to come up with a plan to rescue these men.  When it was said the rescue may not take place before Christmas, another miner who had been trapped in America said, “That’s not good enough”.  He contacted people and said we have the knowledge and the technology to rescue these men a lot sooner.  Along with NASA and the co-operation of many,  many people all over the world….the work began

Three countries started drilling. Three efforts to bore through the abrasive volcanic rock went forward simultaneously — known as Plans A, B, and C — but it was Plan B that broke through to the miners first . South Africa  (plan A) started with a 5 inch hole and then tried to enlarge it to 28 inches.  Canada (plan C) started right away with the 28 inch hole, but the United States (Plan B) was the first to complete the rescue shaft.  They started with a 5 inch hole, then enlarged to a 12 inch hole and ended with a 28 inch hole.  In the end, it took only about six weeks to do what mine safety experts say is a job with little precedent: drilling a precision shaft, wide enough to accommodate a man, to a spot more than 2,000 feet — almost half a mile — underground.

On Monday, the Phoenix I capsule — the biggest of three built by Chilean navy engineers, named for the mythic bird that rose from ashes — made its first test runs after the top 180 feet (55 meters) of the shaft were lined with steel pipe, the rescue leader said.  And finally late last night, the first miners emerged from their deep  trap where they have lived for over  months.

  the first miner arrives!

 “Super” Mario

Such a wonderful experience watching these men arrive from the capsule.  Who can forget the looks of the family members as they await the arrival of the capsule, the hugs, the tears and the cheers as they hug.  The Chilean President has greeted each miner; even the single Bolivian; waving his flag as he arrived. 

Now, just over 12 hours have passed….there are still over half the men left to rescue.  It’s a school holiday in Chile so every person in the country can watch these men….and all over the world, people gather around TV’s and large screen live video.

Congratulations to All involved.  May God watch over and protect all of these wonderful people….the miners, their families and their rescuers alike!

To all My On Line Friends

OMG! I forgot to Hug You!!!!

Get It Off Your Chest Day

I am starting a new day.   From now on, Mondays will be “Get it off your Chest Day”.
Unlike Wednesdays “Rant” Day, Monday will be the day that you can get off your mind everything that happened over the weekend that you just can’t wait until Wednesday to rant about.
For me I woke up Mad this morning, after going to bed mad.  I had a pretty uneventful week; that is after football….but there were just some things that happened that really set me off.  I am one of those people that can’t say no when someone asks for help.  I drop whatever I am doing to help anyone who calls and asks a favor.  But I hate feeling like a door mat, or that I am being used.  I’m not a taxi service or a delivery  service and if I was, I’d be getting paid for it!  I am also not a message service or an information officer!  Don’t pass my phone number out to people I don’t know and have them call me to get a hold of you!  Don’t call me because I live near something and ask me their hours.  If you don’t have the time for me any other time, why bother calling me at all.  This past week was no different and I feel like I have just been a free service.
Friday, I went for a walk with my dog and my best friend; my camera.  After all….my camera doesn’t ask me for anything, it’s there for me when I need it and it is a great source of comfort when I am sitting alone and need something to do.  We walked through the Fairgrounds that was preparing for the County fair and headed across the road to the park.  My idea was to catch some of the fall colors; but the trees have all just barely started to change their “clothes”.  We have been having unusually warm weather for fall for the past several days.

The Fairgrounds was a bustle of energy….venders setting up their booths, ride attendants making last minute adjustments to rides and testing them out.  Hay and wood shavings being distributed to the various barns….And workers preparing their “home away from home” for the week. 
 
Football On Saturday….No complaints there….I visited with friends who don’t expect anything out of me except friendly conversation…and watched 4 football games…
Usually, I buy a fair 6 day pass….it saves the price of 1 days admission.  This year, I couldn’t afford the pass, so I went on Sunday, the free day.  I may be able to go Wednesday with my son, and Friday when I do have a little money to spend.  I get the Pumpkin Funnel cake, a Pork Loin Sandwich and the Loaded Potato Fries from 3 different venders: and there is always the “Fair Food”…cotton Candy and fried candy bars!….“Free” day is usually pretty slow.  A great deal of the exhibits are closed for judging, most of the animals are still coming in, there are no special events such as horseshows, tractor pulls or concerts…Even some of the places that were set up, would not allow people to venture in before noon.  One lady was quite rude about it.


So after a short walk around, I returned home…Knowing I had probably just made a big mistake by walking so far on a hip that has been really giving me fits lately…Three days in a row of standing for long periods and walking is sure to make it scream even more.
Then my youngest son really set me off…He has lived here at home since graduating college and up until now, I have been the one paying for everything.  For the past 18 months, I have been out of working and looking constantly for employment to no avail.  So things are a little tight.  Instead of being able to go to the grocery store and fill up a cart, it is more like go pick up whatever $40 will buy…He gives me $40 every 2 weeks to “help out”….and most of that goes to pay his cell phone bill on my contract that I have been paying for for the last 3 years!  He has decided all of a sudden that from now on, instead of giving me money, he’s going to buy groceries! He spent over $114. Among these, he bought about 5 boxes of cereal; 2 of which only 1 of my son’s eat.  He later raised all holy cane after one box was eaten in 2 days!  I was so angry about him making a stink over a $2 box of cereal that I have sworn I will not eat any of the food he has purchased….There are things in the cabinets that he didn’t buy that will be enough for me to eat….and if not, I will just go hungry.
But of course, It is Monday….and I was expected to do things for people once again that don’t have anything to do with me the rest of the week…The difference is, today I am not doing it!  I will only do what I want from now on!
Hugs and Love to all my true friends!