Just Ask

Inspirational song: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) (Natalie Cole)

Every time I say it, and by the time it is relevant again, I disregard it. I must not run hours of errands in the morning on babysitting days. Yet I keep doing it. This time it was because we had a lot of Amazon things to return, as we went through multiple products trying to find a headset and microphone that were properly compliant with my daughter's work-from-home setup. There was a handful of tech I didn't want lingering on my bank account. Losing two days (well, kind of three) to a certain somebody having a severe intestinal illness made it imperative that we run those errands today. I paid the price for it.

I was not the active grandma I would like to be this afternoon. I spent the whole time nodding off, feeling ooky, and wondering whether that intestinal virus was indeed contagious. After the boy and I got a solid nap, I decided it was probably just fatigue and UV exposure getting me down. I felt better (ish) right about the time the kids went home.

The kids themselves were energetic and clever, as always. Our little man demonstrated new words, such as when he went up to his grandpa, sitting and working on his laptop, and asked, "ah ah doing?" He knew the cadence of the question he wanted to ask, and he knew the most important word to express what he wanted. He said that part very clearly. We are enjoying listening to him find his words.

Returning to Normal

Inspirational song: Bad Reputation (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)

Today was a bit overwhelming, but in the end, it was pretty good. I needed a little help manhandling Murray this morning. I was all alone, and getting him into wheels is beyond my abilities, literally. Removing him from his wheelchair last night by myself was hard enough, and he and I were both exhausted by the time I got him to his bed. I heard him crying a little for the disruption in his normal bedtime routine. I tried to tuck him in the best I could, but I guess I didn't get all the words and head-pats in the right order.

I had a bit of stress waiting to hear how our mystery patient was (I'm resisting using the winky-face emoji here). I wasn't sure how to schedule my day. I did the best I could, but my mind was elsewhere. Eventually I was able to do a little grocery shopping to assemble a charcuterie plate, once I was sure we would be attending the siblings gathering down at my brother-in-law's house.

Dinner in Boulder was great. It was just for us olds, no kids or grandkids. We set aside time to catch everyone up on what the kids were up to, but it was nice to have a calm meal where no one had to jump up to catch a dashing toddler. The Mr and I were saying it might be nice to restrict full-family gatherings to summertime, when we could have a reunion type event at an outside venue where children can be active and loud with abandon. He thinks one or two of his sisters agree with this.

It wasn't a picture-taking sort of day. I straight up stole a good one from yesterday. It looks like Val and her favorite Goofy were both intently watching the same thing. I believe they were holding hands.

Observation

Inspirational song: Back in the USSR (The Beatles)

Usually it's me sitting in the hospital bed in these situations. Oddly, I was only an audience member this time, not the prima ballerina. It was equally uncomfortable, in my opinion, merely sitting in the hard plastic chairs in the ER room, with the thermostat way too cold. At least when you're on the bed they make sure you're warm and have pillows.

I asked how much info I was allowed to give. I was told to be vague. So vague I shall be. I was there with, uh, someone who had a tummyache. They were definitely an adult, so don't start asking whether the grandkids were involved (they were not). The patient is still there, and I am not.

But this ate up most of my day, so I have very little else to discuss. I'm still stuck on who the hell thinks setting an ER room thermostat to 63 is okay?? Ugh. I need to wear warm jammies and an extra blanket tonight.

Park the Car and Get Out

Inspirational song: Drive (The Cars)

Holy cow. I just spent roughly two and a half hours driving, and it wiped me out. I took a friend to the airport, and have only just now returned, at nearly midnight. It's cold enough out there that I had to turn the heat on pretty high, but having a warm car on dark, lonely roads is a recipe for sleepytimes. I was desperate to get home so I could give in to the desire to sleep. 

I'm gonna call it here. My eyelids are really, really heavy.

Chopped

Inspirational song: Mad Man Moon (Genesis)

I'm not sure how deeply to dig into the reasons I wore my hair long for so many years. Some of it was to please others. Some was because I didn't want to allot my funds to something as frivolous as a hair stylist. After chemo, I was so afraid that if I cut off the curls, they would disappear and I'd have straight hair again.

None of these were reasons that could last forever. Eventually I had to get over myself (and over the anxiety of going someplace new), and pay someone to fix the sloppy job I did when I cut it myself the last two times. I couldn't face holding my arms behind my head for an hour one more time. My housemate recommended the salon where they go, up in Loveland, and the ease of making an appointment online sealed the deal. 

I sent a goofy "before" picture to the kids, of me in pajamas, no makeup, and my hair messy from bed. The caption I used wasn't clearly stated, so one of my daughters assumed I had cut it again myself, and said it looked good. Not sure what to make of that.

The salon experience was such a relief. I am not 100% sure, but I think it has been over 10 years since I allowed a professional to have access to my hair. I tamped down my controlling nature and just let her do whatever she wanted. I didn't even read the ingredients on products to look for wheat protein or anything. As she cut, my hair bounced and curled in gratitude for losing length and weight. She put in some product and diffused it, and I left there a happy woman. So much nicer than half-assing it myself.

Next Season's Goals

Inspirational song: In the Dark (Billy Squier)

My friends and I were discussing the best Christmas lights displays in town. One friend had gone on a trolley tour of several of the best places around, and she recommended I check one out that happened to be in her neighborhood. I decided that if I was to do that, I should have company. 

We went to steal the grandchildren around 7:15. I requested that they already be in jammies, so they would be comfortable, and I brought along some ultra soft blankets to tuck around them. I opened the sunroof the whole way, hoping it would add to the visibility of the lights. And off we went.

The first place I went looking for was the wild one we saw on New Years Eve. It was very elaborate, and there were flat cutout characters all over the lawn and roof. As we approached, we realized it was completely removed. Like it had never been. Someone must have been busy yesterday taking all that down. So we drove through that whole neighborhood, looking for good stuff. In less than 10 minutes, Dmitri got very quiet, and I looked back to see he was out cold. Val hung in another 10 minutes beyond that, and then her responses to us telling her to look around got less and less enthusiastic. Five minutes after that, she was out too. So we just kept driving slowly through town, the two of us admiring all the lights still up. At least we managed to stay awake in the warm, dark car.

Eventually we reached my friend's neighborhood. Immediately I recognized the house she had described. These folks had wrapped every single tree on their property (and there had to be more than a dozen) completely in lights. One tree in the front yard was draped in all green lights top to bottom such that it looked like a weeping willow, swaying gently in a breeze. It was fantastic. 

Over the course of the evening, I came up with a lot of goals for next year. I hope I remember a few of them when the time comes.

With a Little Luck

Inspirational song: Uninvited Guest (Marillion)

Okay, we did all the things. We had a sizeable group of family and friends for a New Years meal. I cooked all the right foods, in excessive quantities. I will be eating black-eyed peas all week. This is fine. I like them. So can we safely express a tiny wish that this year will be okay? In years past, it felt like we came off as hostile, telling the previous years to hit the road, and in our hubris, we claimed that we would absolutely own the upcoming year. We should all know better now. Everyone behave yourselves. Be kind to the exiting year, and be polite to the incoming one. We can't risk it anymore.

We cooked for hours, cleaned for hours after, and babysat until after dark. I'm wiped out. In fact, everyone here is feeling run down now. As long as this doesn't turn into anything more than soreness and fatigue, we will be fine. But as I said above, we are not tempting fate. I intend to go to bed early. I'm making zero predictions, boasts, or threats. Just going to quietly turn out the lights and lie down. Maybe this time it will work.