'Maters

I woke Tuesday at 6:15, just before Mindy’s alarm went off. Since I didn’t have to work, she was afraid that I’d sleep in. I didn’t. I planned to do my morning routine as usual and even sneak a run in before leaving for my appointments. Once again, the sky was crystal clear and a beautiful autumn day appeared to be in the making. Even though I had a personal day scheduled, I still prepared Mindy’s snack and breakfast. I left for my run around 7:25am hoping to be back and in the shower by 8:00am. It was a very pleasant run with tunes. I determined Saturday that my headphones were the problem with my MP3 player. That’s the third set of head phones I’ve gone through, although the second set is still good. They just bounce off with the constant pounding of the pavement thus are only applicable with a headband to secure them. Since it was extra chilly this AM – only 45 degrees, I used my sweat headband. I was back home right at 8:00am and headed off to the shower. The sun had risen and began to warm the air significantly. After my shower I had several minutes before needing to depart. I played some guitar and tidied up around the house. I decided driving the BM’er was the right thing to do. Granted, it was cool & crisp, but it was awfully sunny, too. I arrived at Dr March’s practice a few minutes early. Still, they got me right in. They are very organized and efficient. They have a new state-of-the-art office too. I like that. Anyway, Faith was my hygienist. She is youthful, cute, and friendly. She seems to know her skill quite well, too. It took about an hour to x-ray, clean, polish, and examine my teeth. I only saw Dr March for a minute. He gave me an all clear and a thumb’s up for maintaining such good dental hygiene. I’ve paid him so much money over the years that I feel like part owner of the practice. I left there at 10:15am. His office is located at Fishinger and Tremont – right next to the Tremont Mall. I stopped in at Giant Eagle and bought Mindy some wine, and also bought a potted mum to honor and usher in autumn. I left there and drove over to Pets Smart, a few store fronts over. In there I bought some cracked corn to feed the ducks, and also bought Ykraps a new engraved ID with his name, address, and phone number. Leaving there, I drove off to my next appointment. I arrived home from my second appointment just after 3:30pm – record time. By the time I got settled, it was 4pm. Where had the day gone? I quickly changed into some grubbies so that I could begin on my deck staining project. I figured that I could at least complete the railing. I stirred the five gallon bucket of stain I bought almost 4 weeks ago until I felt it was to its desired consistency. I used a coffee as a ladle and filled my plastic painting pail with about a quart of stain at a time. I used sponge brushes to apply the stain. This is a very tedious process and one where you must loose yourself in time to tolerate the experience. Too, it seems like it takes forever to make any appreciable progress. After a few hours I completed the railing and began the clean-up process. Mindy had been home for some time and had brought a surprise package home – my grandson Rocky. He was more than excited to be there with us. He’s come a long way since going to a bay sitter each day. He’s much more social and very polite. He told me today that he loved me. That’s a first! While I cleaned up, the kids fed the ducks and played outside. Lindsey was over now too. As she was preparing to leave I reminded her to leave the baby sitting money she owes us. She flipped out and began uttering all sorts of excuses and reasons for not having the money. She became frantic and completely out of sorts. I was genuinely worried. Despite our efforts to help her, she doesn’t seem very appreciative or humble. She maintains an unusual strong sense of entitlement. Mindy chased after her to try and reason with her. From my perspective it’s not as much about the money as it is the discipline to meet obligations and responsibilities. We already pay her car insurance and half of her child care. We’re doing that to help her get a handle on life with the hope that after one year she can stand on her own two feet. Still, she left believing that I was unreasonable and mean. J Enough about that! After she left I carried out all the household good I had ready for the Kidney Foundation, who is coming by tomorrow AM to pick them up. Among those items was my kids old Fisher Price kitchen set. Until now, it’s been setting in the basement collecting dust and dirt. I sprayed it with hose. Bella helped wipe it dry. She also pouted about giving it away saying she wanted to keep it. This coming from a child that has every toy known to mankind. After we went in, Mindy got the kids ready for bed. I was not in that good of a mood after the Lindsey escalation. If I am guilty of anything it is allowing her out bursts to impact my own disposition. They always leave me feeling helpless and back at square one. We had spoken of making a late dinner, but we did not. I had no real appetite. Instead, I popped some popcorn. After finishing off the popcorn we got in the hot tub. We discussed Lindsey’s situation and how we might change our tactics if at all. But all that did was frustrate me even more. Mindy eventually got out of the hot tub and went in. I stayed in a few minutes longer. I had a sudden coughing spell that lasted about 20 minutes. I stayed up nursing my cough and eventually reading until about 10:30pm. That’s as late as I’ve stayed up on a work night in a long time, except for my birthday.