Reflections

Watching someone you love age is hard.

I've seen family and friends go through the process of watching aging family members with dementia or Alzheimers. Or perhaps failing health.

I've seen people complain of having to deal with their aging parents.  I want to slap them.  They are fortunate to have their parents and to be able to assist them. It's a privilege to be able to assist someone who did so much for you.

This is a part of life that you expect though as you become an adult and your parents age.  Role reversal - you are now taking care of the ones who took care of you.

I think as a child it's something that you realize.  You will probably have to take care of your parents as they age. I also think that most people are more than happy to do so.

Watching your sibling age I think is harder.

You expect your parents to age. You don't expect someone you grew  up with to.

This is your partner in crime when you were kids.  You were a team for football games.  They know your childhood and you know theirs.

We fought each other, we fought for each other and always knew that if anything was needed we could call.

That's what family does. You take care of each other. No questions asked.

You're close in age. If your sibling is aging does that mean you are to?  In some ways I believe this is sadder than watching a parent age.  I don't know this personally but you expect your parents to age and need you. You don't expect your brother to be almost defeated.

Now before anyone gets the wrong conclusion - No - none of my brothers have dementia nor any major health concerns at this time. It's more a matter of realizing that perhaps it's best to move closer to family for asistance with some activities.

I spent last week with my oldest daughter helping my oldest brother do just that.  That was a hard week.  We went through personal items and packed and loaded a rental truck in a day and a half.  Then my daughter drove that loaded truck cross country pulling my brother's car.  We did a lot in a short time frame. 

Should it have been done sooner?  Possibly, but until he was ready it couldn't be done. 

Was it worth it? Yes  My brother is happier now than he has been for a while.  I no longer worry about him as much as I know he is within 2 hours of family if anything is needed. And another brother and I agree that he sounds so much better and happier.  So yes it was worth it. 

Would I do it again?  Without any hesitation YES - YES - YES  Family is family.  I will do anything I can for any of my family.  Including driving 15 hours one way to take care of you.

 And knowing that my daughters are there if needed when I call them to help with their uncle is what family is all about. 

Brother Trip

Goodness!  How does the time get away from me?  I can't believe I haven't posted since March.

We had Spring Break at school.  I worked it this year but Gary took a trip to see our Arizona family.  He had a good time.  Since I worked Spring Break I got to take equivalent time later. I opted to take my time in April and I planned a 'brother trip'.

My brothers and I are scattered.  I live in Oklahoma. My oldest brother lives in Michigan. My next oldest brother lives in Pennsylvania and our little brother lives in South Carolina.  We have not all been together since my dad died, like 35 years ago.  Now I have seen each of them and sometimes 3 of us have been together.  I saw two of my brothers last year but it has been probably 20 years since any of us had seen my little brother.  So I just planned a brother trip.

My best bud, Remington wanted to go with me to meet my brothers.  He's heard lots of stories about our growing up years.  From how I got a black eye playing football just because Bub socked me in the eye to keep me from going out for the pass and probable touchdown to the time I got punched in the stomach right after coming home from the hospital having my appendix removed. He knows a lot about my childhood.  Plus, he also knew that Uncle Wayne had lots of tattoos and he wanted to see an 'old person with tattoos'.  LOL

So, we started our trip on a Friday about 12:30.  Our plan was to drive to Pennsylvania first and pick up Wayne.  We got there Saturday evening.  Lucky for Remington, Uncle Wayne knows kids and had gotten some groceries for him, two containers of ice cream for starters.  Remington ate half of one container straight out of the container that night and finished it off the next morning for breakfast.

I should tell you that we drove in rain all day Saturday on the way to Wayne's. Now we get there and our plan is to leave the next day to drive to Michigan to Stephen's. It's about a 5 hour drive.  Steve tells us we should wait a day or two as it is storming. He sent us a picture Sunday morning showing us the ice.

I checked weather and road reports. Wayne and I talked it over and I said I think we'll be fine.  It's only a 5 hour drive. We'll get there before it gets dark.  So we took off.  It wasn't bad until we got to Flint. The farther north we drove the more weather we saw but we made it in just fine.  Remington and I kinda enjoyed the snow although I know that Wayne and Steve were both tired of it by this time. They had been having snow since at least November.

Tuesday late morning we headed out. We had plans to meet my daughter's mother-in-law for lunch about 30 minutes away.  I never realized how close she lived to Steve.  We had a great lunch and visit but did not linger long as we still had quite a ways to go and it was storming again - snow, rain, wind.

The restaurant we ate at had some awesome food and some HUGE portions.  Remington got a 'small' burrito that was humongous!  But he ate it all.

Wednesday evening we finally pull into Bub's in South Carolina.  It took us all day Tuesday to drive through Ohio. We had to drive through a couple of mountains as we entered into West Virginia. Remington and I both thought that was cool but we also agreed that Grampa would not like it.

We spent all day Thursday with Bub.  He has a beautiful place out in the country that he is clearing off.  He has already cleared a lot of it and it looks so pretty.  Spent some time trying to capture a lizard, which was semi-successful. That means that at one time it was in a container but quickly jumped out.  lol

Friday about noon we headed out for the long drive home.  Made it to Tupelo Friday night without any problems other than all the construction.  Saturday morning up and back on the road.  Did I mention that we had Wayne's dog Bug with us?  He was a pretty good traveler until that last day.  Don't know what happened but we had just stopped and gotten gas and coffee. Pulled back on the interstate and for some reason Bug decided to jump into the front seat. In doing so he put his claw into my coffee cup and it started leaking.  Wayne is trying to get Bug in the back, fortunately he still had his leash on him. Bug is not having any of that.  I'm trying to get pulled off the road and Remington is trying to catch the leaking coffee into a fry container.  I get pulled off the road and then hold the coffee cup sideways to keep the last 4th of the cup from leaking out  and Remington and I are trying to figure out how to get this soggy mess out of the car.  I roll down the window and Bug jumps through it!  I was able to grab the leash and keep him from taking off.  We finally get the coffee disposed of. Take every napkin we have in the car and soak up all the coffee and then head back out.

We did not hit any weather until we pulled into Oklahoma and then the rain started.  We dropped Remington off at his house and then finished our trip to Tulsa. We drove a total of 3.340 miles and it was worth it to see all my brothers.  :)

The Week of Daylight Savings Time

If you are my friend on Facebook you have already read my feelings on Daylight Savings Time.

IT SUCKS AND IT'S STUPID! 

Now, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.  But seriously - how can you think this solves anything?

It takes at least a week to adjust to the new time - the hour you lose - where did it go?  I just lost an hour of sleep and that's not a good thing.  I'm a cranky person when I'm tired.  And there is not enough coffe to make me feel any differently.

Now I have to go around and change my clocks to make sure they have the right time. I have a clock that has little shelves on it and it hangs on the wall. To change this clock I have to take things off the shelves and then take it off the wall.  This clock never gets changed unless the battery dies.  Word of advise - at my house if you are looking at that clock it will always be the 'real' time.

My phone - is it going to automatically update like it's supposed to or not?  Ugg I think it will but how can I be sure? The only way to be sure is to get up and go check another clock in the house to see what time it says. And that's another thing - do you set the clocks forward before you go to bed or wait until the next morning to do so? To many decisions here for me already.

Now to try to remember how to change the clock in the car. Oh wait - I just traded cars I have no idea how to change that one.  It will wait until Gary wants to mess with it (which he has done).  Now I have to remember that I haven't changed the clock yet and then mentally add another hour to the time when I'm in the car so I don't show up late thinking I'm actually an hour early.

I was getting used to having a little bit of sunlight when I headed to work at 7 am. Now I am heading to work at 6 am. That's real smart - let's put someone who is tired behind the wheel of a moving vehicle in the dark. 

 Putting someone who is not a morning person at all on the phone at 6 am is probably not a smart idea either.  Who knows what might come out of my mouth.  Let's just hope I can put a filter on it. 

Now napping at work is really frowned upon but seriously - doesn't everyone need a nap at least on the Monday after Daylight Savings Time?  It is known as National Napping Day.

Statistics say that on the Monday after Daylight Savings Time starts - heart attacks increase by 24%,- car accidents increase by 17%, and work productivity goes down.  I did not need any survey or statistics to tell me that. 

And another thing - what about TV programming?  Now how do they decide which show to air at 2 am when the time is supposed to change?  If I'm having one of those nights where I can't sleep and I'm watching TV expecting to see a certain show - trust me - I will not be happy!  Do they continue with regular programming or what? 

Now for the even stupider part.  There are some states that want to change Daylight Savings Time to be permanent.  No more changing!  Well that would be a great idea if they were not stupid enough to want to change it to Permanent Daylight Savings Time - meaning never turn your clock back!  What idiot thinks this is a good idea? 

So there you have it - my feelings on Daylight Savings Time.  There is no good reason for it! - Period!  Just leave the clocks alone. There are 24 hours in each day - the sun comes up and the sun goes down.

New Title

New title usually means a job promotion doesn't it?  Well, I guess  that's kinda what I've gotten. 

I'm going from Grandma to Great-Grandma!  Isn't that exciting?  Just wish they lived closer than 3 states away.  But it's okay.  I'm able to have a relationship with those grand kids living 3 states away so it should be doable for a great-grand as well! 

But I'm just sitting here wondering how did that little boy who was my first grandchild become old enough to make me a great-grandma?

Where did  the little boy go who would sit on my lap on the riding mower to help me mow the lawn.

What happened to that little boy who sat in my lap and 'helped' me make his Aunt Charlie's wedding dress?

Where did the little boy go who used to call me on the phone and hide in his closet to talk to me in whispers so his parents wouldn't know he was talking to me again?

Where's the little boy who made forts for us to hide in so no one could see us?

What happened to the boy who called the rocking chair 'Grandma's chair' and wouldn't let anyone else sit in it?

Where's the little boy who sat in his high chair and gave all his food to our dog Bit then put all of Bit's dog food in his diaper bag to take home? 

Where's the boy who asked me to play street hockey with him in Arizona in July when the temp was 113 degrees?

Where's the boy who always wanted to play one-on-one?

Where's the boy who got to play Neopets so we could e-mail each other?  And that one game where he would message me to get online so I could follow him and his friends around and fight peole online?  I was always worried those other boys parents would think I was some kind of pervert.  LOL

Oh gosh!  How did he grow up? 

Well he did and now I get to be a great-grandma.  Here's to my new title. 

Free Day

I've been quiet for a while.  Took time off to have a knee replacement and then holidays and busy time at work.  Well, it's still our busy time at work but I'll take this time to vent a little.  I'm going to write about how I would answer calls if I were given a Free Day.  I really think everyone in Customer Service should be allowed one free day at least every quarter - every month would be nicer but I would settle for every quarter.

Here's how I would answer calls:

Caller - after asking numerous questions they should already know the answer to:  Well, if I have any other questions I'll call you back.
My Free Day answer:  I'm sorry but each caller is only allowed one call per semester. If you have any questions for us you need to ask them now.  Your number has been recorded and will now be blocked until the semester is over.


Caller:  Yeah, I'm calling to find out if it's to late to enroll for classes?
My Free Day Answer - well if you haven't taken the time to even apply for admissions a week before the semester starts then you are probably out of luck.  Try again next semester.


Caller:  My classes are on Monday and Wednesday but you are closed on Monday.  Should I come to campus any way?
My Free Day answer:  Yes indeed - we will have monitors in place where you will need to check in just to verify that you showed up for class.  Your instructor will not be available that day but you must check in prior to the start time of your class time that day.


Caller:  Yeah, I'm taking Saturday only classes.  What should I do the rest of the week?  Do I need to go to campus?
My Free Day answer: Yes, we ask that all students report to campus every day of the week. Please feel free to just hang out in the lobby for the day. You may go home at 5 pm.


Caller (for the fourth time): Can you connect me to advisement?
My Free Day answer after telling him 3 times that no I cannot they do not receive any incoming phone calls:  Sorry, you're stuck with me.  How many times do I have to say - THEY DO NOT RECEIVE ANY INCOMING PHONE CALLS?


Caller:  Yeah, I'm kinda wondering where my money is?
My Free Day answer: I don't know - where did you put it?


Caller:  Can you tell me why my instructor hasn't answered my e-mail?
My Free Day answer: Why yes indeed.  Instructors only answer e-mails on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month of even numbered month.  If it is an odd -numbered month they will respond on the 2nd Thursday of the month.


Caller:  I don't think you're listening to me you aren't any help at all.
My Free Day answer:  Oh, yes, I'm listening to you. I quit really paying attention 10 minutes ago when you started telling me how dumb I was because you needed to turn in documents that have shown for the last 5 months that they needed to be turned in. It is not my fault that you choose to wait until today to check on this and now you don't have your financial aid in place.


Caller - parent calling for adult son (25 years old) who is asleep: No he's not available, he's asleep right now and I don't like to bother him.
My Free Day answer:  Perhaps you should bother him. He is an adult and he is responsible for his account and his classes. Make him grow up.


Caller: Can you look up classes for me and tell me what's available?
My Free Day answer - no you need to do that yourself. If you are serious about taking classes then you need to look and see what's available.  If you really want me to look I might give you finger painting classes.


Caller: Classes start next week and I didn't get my taxes done until last week. Now Financial Aid is saying they won't pay for my classes until all my information is turned in. I'm running out of time. Can you help me?
My Free Day answer: Sorry - perhaps you should have been thinking of those taxes last year when they were due then in January of this year you would not be wondering how to get the information you need.  Sounds to me like you are out of luck.



Now how much more fun would my job be if I could answer questions that way? 

New Adventures

Well I haven't been very good about keeping up have I?  That's because I've been busy having fun the month of July while Gary is off work.  But that time is winding down.

You are perhaps wondering what "New Adventure' I am talking about.  It's not us, it's our oldest granddaughter. She graduated high school this year.

Yesterday she took her oath for the Army and set off for Basic Training.

She is ready for this!

She has trained for this!

She has talked about this!

She has this!

She is a strong young woman who won't let anything stand in her way.

I thought I was prepared for this.  Turns out I wasn't as prepared as I thought.

I've seen my brothers go off to basic training. I've seen my friends go off to basic.

I've sent numerous care packages.

However - when I got that picture showing my granddaughter with only a backpack showing her possessions. I cried.

Then I got pictures and a video showing her taking the oath.

I cried.

When did the little girl who called herself "Sparkle" and did makeovers become old enough to be joining the Army?

Yes, I cried.  Weepy is more like it.  I know she is ready and I know she is doing what she wants to do. I know she has this.  I'm just the weepy grandma wondering where did the time go?

I'm proud of her and could not be any happier for her as I know she is doing what she wants to do; and when her graduation from basic comes around I'll be there.

In the meantime and for the next few years, I'll be sending care packages again.

Just Catching Up

Oh my gosh - it's been a while since I posted.  I had kind of a busy May. It wasn't planned - several things came up and I ended up doing a lot of driving and was gone  Put probably 5,000 miles on the van.  I'm glad I was able to do so but it was good to get home.

Then our Summer Semester started which of course meant a few busy busy weeks for me at the beginning. Now things have settled down some and I thought I would just pop on here and let everyone know I'm still here - still catching up.

I had the privilege last month to watch my oldest grand daughter graduate from High School.  I say privilege because to me it is.  I've always had the goal of seeing all of my grand children graduate from high school.  This may seem a little strange to have as a goal to some but my parents never got to see my children graduate so it has been my goal.  I have a few more to go but it's looking like I might make that goal.

Then I also had the privilege after the graduation of bringing my grand daughter back home with me (she lives in Arizona - part of my May travels) and attending a graduation from Army basic training for one of her friends.

This was very emotional and a privilege for me to get an idea of what my parents and my brothers went through during their training.  Not sure how accurate it might have been for my parents but it gave me a glimpse into military life that I did not have before.  What a honor to see these men and women who are willing to serve our country for me. I have always appreciated my family for their service but this made it even more meaningful for me.  Cannot wait to go and watch my granddaughters graduation after she completes her basic.

Our New Food Night is resuming as of tonight.  It had been on hold due to ball games etc. But we are back on.  Don't worry - we all managed to eat during this time but are now ready to try new foods again. But you will soon be reading about our choices once again.

Summer is getting in full gear and I have two vacations planned for next month.  Excited about both of them. You will probably be reading some of our exploits in future blogs.

Work is - well work.  For the most part not to bad but I still have my fair share of really stupid calls that really irk me.  I sure wish I could punch a button on my phone and it would sent a shocking jolt to the person on the other end. Maybe they would realize how stupid they sound.

And just a little interesting piece of news for you to brighten your day -- today June 20th is National Ice Cream Soda day. So you can eat all the ice cream you want without feeling guilty -- they made a holiday for it!

Okay - I've kinda caught you up. I will be posting again soon. In the meantime, if you have something you want me to blog on or perhaps research and blog for you -let me know.  I'd love to hear what you want to hear about.