November 21, 2008
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I Get A Day Off…and some other thoughts
My Sister, Bratfink, who has her own blog on this site, sometimes makes me think about things I haven’t really put into words. Today was such a day. I actually had a day off from watching Chewlee, although I dressed her for her sojourn out into the world after her mother gave her a bath. She can be so cute at times and she loves to dress up. For whatever reason, she’s much better for me about even combing her hair than she is for her mother. It’s my delight and my g-daughter is grateful. I don’t care. I enjoy it.
They left early because they were going to Huntsville and to Burlington Coat Factory. The Princess finally realized she MUST get a coat for cold weather. We’ve had a few days already that her fleece wraps have not been warm enough. (She ended up buying two different coats/jackets and only spent $70). Then she hit one of the major malls there to shop at a couple of her favorite stores and then meet up with Tara to have dinner. By the time she and the baby got home, the baby was miserable from being woken up from her *nap* (it was really nite-nite time) but Grandma got her into her pajamas and then tucked her in for the night.
Anyway, to go back to my sister Bratfink, she really does push buttons sometimes. She makes me realize that we all truly are so connected by events and feelings. For instance, the Boy just had his teeth pulled and a plate put in and spent a lot of time complaining about the pain, the misery, his losing weight, etc., etc. All of us married to men realize it’s a man thing. He could have had a pimple popped and it would elicit complaints for DAYS. *sigh*
Well, the Beast has his lower teeth pulled on Tuesday. The dentist had the plate ready for him and it was installed (yes, installed is the right word for it) as soon as those teeth were pulled. He bled like a SOB because he takes aspirin every day since he’s had his strokes. I don’t think he mentioned this to the dentist so he didn’t stop taking it for a couple days beforehand. He should have. Nevertheless, he bled all over my good sheets (figures!) and he’s tried very hard NOT to complain to me because I went through this already and didn’t complain at all. He knows this and I have no sympathy for him because of it. I told him that he needs to just figure that the pain will subside and he will learn how to chew with those new teeth. I’m sorry that it was the bottom teeth that he started with because those are just miserable to learn how to deal with as far as chewing goes. But, c’est la vie’.
He disregarded the dentists instructions and took his teeth out for several hours the day after having them put in. Guess what happened? You got it…..his gums swelled and he had a hellofatime getting the plate put back on. I just laughed because he has always been so self-centered that he thinks he is smarter than the doctors. It’s why he had his strokes. He didn’t take his meds. Now he’s learned, the hard way, that he ISN’T as smart as he thought he was.
He’s now on the days when he has instructions to take his plate out at night. I told him that it what I was told, too. The gums will swell and then subside after a couple hours so it’s not so difficult to put them back in place. I hope he has learned his lesson. Only time will tell.The Beast is going to Virginia for Thanksgiving to spend with his family. His Aunt Marge, cousin Bevie and Butch, Butch’s son Patrick (and his family) plus his son Jimmy and HIS family and his daughter, Brenda and HER family will all be there. I can’t attend because it means we would have to travel with the baby because the Princess has to work a 13 hour day after Thanksgiving AND two 12 hour days after that. I gave him the choice. It would mean taking the baby AND Baron and the two of them would NOT work out in the back seat…trust me on that.
I’m not really upset over it because the Beast said he would take the dorg with him AND his kennel. He has finally realized that the kennel is really necessary no matter what. Baron just gets too damn wild at times. I am going to be making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and, because the Princess loves it, broccoli and cheese. I am making my nut cups this weekend because I promised to send some with the Beast for his family. It’s what they always assign me. I don’t wonder about that this year since the darn nuts alone cost me $9. *mouth open in surprise*
The Princess really was hoping for a real *family* thanksgiving but I explained to her that it’s not that easy when *family* can mean different things depending on how you look at it. My son Mark’s wife has family living there in Tullahoma so I figured that she will be having her family (her dad, mother, sister and family) there with them. My son Stephen and his sister, Buttmunch, are suffering from the economic problems so they can’t afford to come down to spend it with us. Even the situation with the Beast and his relatives is another example. His aunt is in her late 80′s and is suffering from Parkinson’s so that means she isn’t long for this world no matter HOW you look at it.
At least Christmas will be different since Mark took the week of Christmas off (he put in for it months ago and has worked all the major holidays since then) and so we will have them here for it even if it’s not exactly on Christmas day. I figure it may be just BEFORE or just AFTER Christmas but I don’t care. At least Chewlee will get to see her cousins and her aunt and uncle then.
It was Bratfink that really got me thinking about all this and about how lucky we really ARE in many ways. Her grandbrats are far away from her. Mine are not. Plus this great-grandbrat is living right here with me. She is both a delight and a terror at times. But…..I am teaching her Spanish words (and her mother can testify to this) and she has learned to say *Please* now, which she resisted before I started taking care of her. She cracks me up at times with some of her expressions she makes when she is guilty of doing something naughty or when she is just plain bad. She only knew how to say *NO* when she came here and she now knows how to say *YES*. It pleases me because she is so bright for a 16 month old baby compared to many we have seen.
She cracks me up when she plays with her play cell phone because she holds it under her chin while she is doing other things and it reminds me of both myself and her mother. She really does imitate real life with her play.
Anyway, we have an arctic air mass heading our way this weekend and they expect weather down into the region of 15-20 degrees here. I am dreading it but also realize that it’s probably the best thing for our fruit trees since we didn’t get really cold weather until late December or early January. The colder weather will mean the trees are more productive this spring. I can dig that.
You all have a great weekend and tell those you love them that you do as often as you can. You just never know what life has in store for you or those you love. Let your heart be your guide and rest assured that your last words to them were words of love. Love you all.
