Happy 4th!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

U. S. A.

!!!

Things That Disgust Me

- A dirty diaper disposed of in a parking lot
- Seeing someone throw trash out of their car
- Finding an unflushed toilet
- Finding someone hasn't wiped a toilet seat clean
- Paper towels strewn around a public toilet
- Finding dirty dishes in the office kitchen
- Old food left to die in the office refrigerator
- Pants that hang down to the crotch and have to be held up by one hand so they don't drop to the ground
- Tramp stamps
- Lip and/or tongue piercings causing speech impediments




Dang I'm a grouchy old woman!!

Wotta Week!!

This morning, my husband decided he needed to get up early. Which means we bump into each other while I'm trying to get ready for work. Not to mention the fact that he wants to converse. I don't like conversation early in the morning. He's supposed to be in bed snoring.

Yesterday morning, I had a flat tire on the way to work. Fortunately I had left the interstate and found a safe refuge to wait for the guy to come change my tire.

Friday, our old and faithful printer died. So Saturday, we bought a new one and installed it. For some reason I had problems installing it but I think that was mostly "operator error".

No, actually I think it was entirely "operator error"!

Nearly all last week we were short handed at work. Usually there are three of me. Last week there was only . . . ME! Thankfully, everyone survived. But I think there are those who now fear me!

Last night, we got a little much-needed rain and this morning it is much cooler! YaY!

This week? Bring it on! I can handle anything!!

Farewell!

March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009

February 2, 1947 — June 25, 2009

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

I'm Rich!!!!

A few days ago I received this email.

ATTENTION DEAR

WE THE WESTERN UNION PAYMENT DEPARTMENT REMMITTING OFFICE HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED BY THE MINSTRY OF FINANCE AND FUNDS TRANSFER ORDER TO SEND YOUR FULL COMPASETION PAYMENT OF 850.000.00 USD TO YOU VIA WESTERN UNION, IT HAVE BEEN APROVED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THEY HAVE FINALLY AGREED TO ISSUE OUT YOUR INHERITERCE FUNDS WHICH SURPPOSED TO BE TRANSFER TO YOU SINCE LAST TWO MONTH AGO BUT DUE TO THE SOME MATTERS WHICH THEY WERE DEALING WITH OVER YOUR FUNDS BUT THANK GOD THAT THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH WITH THE MATTERS, NOW YOU ARE TO BE INFORM THAT YOU WILL BEEN RECEIVING THE SUM $5000.00 USD PER DAY, UNTIL IT COMPLETE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $850.000.00 USD . ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE SEND THE FIRST PAYMENT TO YOU. SO I WANT YOU TO CONTACT THE DIRECTOR OF THE WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT MR. FRANK OBODO AND ASK HIM TO GIVE YOU THE WESTERN UNION PAYMENT INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR FUNDS THROUGH WESTERN UNION WITHOUT ANY PROTOCOLS. MOREOVER IF YOU ARE NOT THE RIGHT PERSON PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT TO AVOIDING MISPLACEING OF THE PAYMENT. BELLOW IS HIS CONACT INFORMATION CONTACT PERSON:

MR. FRANK OBODO

EMAIL ADRESS: vitalwesternunionservice01@gmail.com

PHONE NUMBER: +229.98.94.99.94,

AND RECONFIRM HIM WITH YOUR FULL INFORMATION.

YOUR NAME............COUNTRY.............PHONE NO............ADDRESS/CITY........AGE/SEX.............CALL OR EMAIL HIM NOW SO THAT HE CAN PROVIDE THE WESTERN UNION INFORMATION TO YOU AS URGENT AS YOU CAN.. THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU MR PHILLIP IWUNUO

This morning I received this email.

MONEY TRANSFERED URGENT? Dear Good friend, I have contacted
you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by Engr. Gengle who died in an auto accident with his entire family before they got
confisticated or declared unserviceable by the bank. Since i have been
unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 2 years now I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased so that the proceeds of this account valued at 11.5M (Eleven Million Five Hundred Thousand pounds )can be paid to you.All I require is your honest cooperation. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.and his from london kindly reply and send your via to my private EMAIL.....mr.niceman@msn.com [yeah, this is really the email address he sent to me.]

Best
Regards and get back to me

Exchange Manager
Koshy Enrico

So, all I need to do is give these guys (neither of whom can spell or write properly) all my information and they will send me of $12 Million Bucks!! WoW! I mean WOW!!

(Do you think it makes any difference that neither of these guys knew my name??)

How Old is Old Enough?

A friend is upset because her 9-year-old daughter wants to shave her legs! She'll be fourth grade in the fall. What do I think about it?!?

I was in the fourth grade I think before I shaved my legs. (I'd already been shaving my pits for some time then.) My mother became livid when she found out! She said I was way to young to be worrying about the hair on my legs! Well, of course it didn't matter. I was going to have smooth, hair-free legs no matter what my mother thought about it!

And that's what I told my friend. If you let this be a battle, it'll be a battle you'll lose. If her daughter wanted to shave her legs, then show her the proper way to do it so she won't hurt herself. There will be far more important battles than leg hair in the future!!

My mother didn't want me shaving my legs until I got into junior high. She also didn't want me wearing makeup until I was high school age, and then I certainly didn't need to be wearing makeup to school! By fourth grade many, but not all, of the girls had started shaving. At that age, nobody wants to stand out because of leg hair! That could be the end of life!!

I shaved my legs anyway and my mother pretended not to notice. I used my allowance to buy shaving supplies, and later makeup, which I applied on the bus on the way to school. By the time school was out, most of it was worn off anyway, so she never did realize I was wearing it.

My mother and I had a lot of these types of battles. And I was very intimidated by her for some reason. She tried to make me into the daughter I wasn't! She tried to make me into the daughter she wanted! And I'm not even sure who that person was!

I guess by the time my sister reached that age, my mother was already battle-worn because those things were not issues between them. Or maybe my sister was the daughter that my mother wanted! They were certainly much more alike in many ways. And maybe that was why that butted heads so much!

Mother and I never did the head-butting thing. I just went along with what she said, but much of the time I did what I wanted eventually anyway. Or else I decided it just wasn't worth the trouble.

My grandmother, my mother's mother, and I got along much better. She was the one who taught me how to shave my armpits! She bought me my first bra! My grandmother and I talked about lots of things that my mother and I never did. Menstruation. Sex.

My grandmother died in 1976. She was 69. My mother died in 1998 and was 68. Both were heavy smokers. I miss them both, but I sometimes I miss my grandmother more.

The End of Analog TV!

June 12, 2009

The Death of Analog TV

The Future of Digital TV

Embrace it!

(You may as well. The government has mandated it so we're just
gonna have to live with it!)

FaceBook Not Friend

I had a friend request this morning on FaceBook. This from a woman with whom I once considered a friend, but then she started using our friendship in so many ways. She needed money, she needed a ride here or there, she needed help to move some furniture, a loan to pay a bill until payday, help buying groceries, money. It became constant. So I began avoiding her, not taking her phone calls, etc.

Not too long ago, she emailed my husband and another friend asking for help paying a bill "until payday". Now understand the last time or two that she borrowed from us "until payday", that payday apparently never came! We didn't help her. I'm not sure about the other friend, but as far as I know she didn't get help from either of us. She used this friend in the same manner she used us.

About a year ago she moved about an hour away, so I practically never hear from her anymore. Until this morning, when she wants to be my FaceBook friend.

I clicked the "Ignore" button just as fast as my mouse would click!!

Fun Monday - When I Am Old!

Sayre is the host for this week's Fun Monday! The assignment is

Using your imagination, project into the future and tell me what you
will be like as an 80-year old. Will you be someone who doesn't accept
the aging process, spending all your time in the gym and the bars, or will
you be a rocking chair granny, or something in between?

I hope that I will not be someone people avoid because I've become old, bitter and angry.

I hope that I will not sit around and be sad because everyone I've known is dead or dying.

I hope that I will be active, not drool too much, still able to get around and do for myself.

I hope that I will still be able to drive myself to church, to run my own errands, to wherever I want to go. But I also hope that if I'm unable to drive, I will graciously accept it as one of my limitations. Then I'll hire some really nice (and nice looking!) young man to drive me wherever, whenever I want or need to go!

This poem may say it all for me!




When I am an old woman
I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go
And doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension
On brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals,
And say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops
And press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old
And start to wear purple.

--Jenny Joseph

Cutting Off His Nose to Spite His Face?!?

Not quite the same thing!


A man in Egypt was angry because his family wouldn't let him marry the woman of his choice, who happened to be of a lower class.

So the 25-year-old man cut off his own penis.

~~shudder!~~

For two years he tried to talk Dad into letting him marry her!! But dad wouldn't relent! So Junior heated up a knife and Bobbittized himself! That'll show ya, Dad!!

He and his severed penis were rushed to the hospital, but, alas, efforts to rejoin the two were unsuccessful.

He probably will not be marrying anybody now!! He probably won't have much luck getting a girlfriend either for that matter!

Computer is Healed!!

My friend the IT guy returned my computer this weekend. I then had to restore documents and programs . . . still have a bit of work to do there!

But it works oh so much better!!!!

The old computer?? It's so old that it says Compaq, not HP! That's been at least 5 or 6 years! It barely connects to the internet. Slower than molasses. Like a faithful friend, it hung in there while the new computer was in the hospital, so we're gonna hang on to it. If nothing else, the little kids can play some of their games on it. (They love Jezzball! The original game, not the new improved version!)

Now, I'm back in the ballgame!!

Where Have I Been?!?!?!!

My computer croaked. Slowly it started doing stoopid stuff. No virus, just a problem with the registry, which corrupted a couple of things.

I spent four hours on Saturday trying to fix this and that, but nothing solved the problem. So I called my friend, SuperITMan. He came over and worked on it, and declared it in need of a complete rebuild.

Rats.

So, Memorial Day was spent doing a data and program backup. And just to be safe, I made a copy of all the documents, pictures, etc. Put everything on an external hard drive.

SuperITMan picked it up Monday afternoon and I should have it back, squeaky clean and super fast, by the weekend.

We have a dinosaur computer that works, but is slower than molasses in January! We kept it so the little kids can play games on it. So glad we did! It will connect to the internet, but just barely!

Computers. You gotta love 'em. But much of the time, I hate 'em!!

Fun Monday : Of Guilty Pleasures!

Mariposa has volunteered to host Fun Monday for this week!

In the midst of the busyness of our lives we tend to get overwhelmed by it that we forget ourselves. Most of us are inclined to look out for others first, yet we deserve to look for ourselves as much or even more. I believe we do! In fact we all need to learn to pamper ourselves and not just in times when we are stressed.

In fact we all need to learn to pamper ourselves and not just in times when we are stressed. So for next week, let us share each other's self pampering stories...may they be from little pleasures to guilty pleasures!

How do I pamper myself?

Sorry. Can't share. I could be arrested.

Well, perhaps I could share a few things!

To relax and shake the cobwebs out of my brain, I like to play online backgammon. I enjoy the competition, and I enjoy getting to play a game with people I don't know and have and will likely never meet! Sometimes I get a real jerk who accuses me (and probably everyone else they are losing to!) of cheating. But most of the time the players are in it for fun, and that makes it entertaining.

I like to play Wii bowling and Wii tennis! This gets me up off the couch and moving if even just a little bit. I've always like both games, but a wrist injury ruined my bowling game and my knees are pretty shredded from a couple of injuries over the past many years, so tennis is out too. But I can do Wii!! And my husband likes to play with me! (And he likes to play Wii with me too!!)

And I like to play games with friends although we don't do at all enough of that. We play silly things like Phase 10, Uno, Spades, ChickenFoot. Mostly we just have fun and enjoy each other's company.


As for the other stuff mention, the stuff that could get me arrested . . . for that you must use your imagination!

Brainless Zombie Fire Ants

Texas A&M is developing a great way to control fire ants!

If you live in fire ant country, specifically Texas, you know that fire ants have no redeeming qualities and should have been squashed before they were allowed to leave the Ark!

The tool they're using is a fly. A tiny phlorid fly native to the same place in South America where the fire ants immigrated from in the first place.

What these flies do is not pretty! They lay eggs in the head of the fire any. The maggot feeds on the ant's brain until it is ready to hatch out of the mouth of the ant. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!

Two things happen here. One, the ant with the maggot in its head dies and its head falls off. Ewww! The other ants, trying to avoid the same fate, refuse to go outside and look for food. So they basically hang in their house until everyone starves.

Cool!!

White Lace and Promises

Thirty-five years ago, I married my college sweetheart. It was a very subdued version of my fantasy wedding partially because neither I nor my parents had the resources to throw the wedding of my dreams. My then-fiance also refused to participate in what he regarded as a huge waste of money, nothing more than show. He (correctly) believed that the success of the marriage had nothing to do with the size or the cost of the wedding. It was nice nonetheless. Small, intimate. But it just wasn't what I really wanted.

I would rather have waited until we could have had a nicer wedding. But he wanted to get married then! He didn't want to wait! Thus the compromise. Not so much a compromise, rather me giving in to his desire. To keep peace. This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last time I acquiesced to keep the peace.

My engagement ring? Nice, pretty, but far short of what I wanted. When I showed him what I had in mind, he said it was just too expensive! Too showy! Besides the ring was no indicator of how much he loved me or how successful our marriage would be, and we needed the money for other things. The wedding. The new apartment.

While most grooms stood in the background while the bride and her mother planned all the details, my groom wanted to be in on everything. From the cake, the location, the music, the flowers, even my and the bridesmaids' dresses. The only thing I insisted on was the choice of minister, a man who I had know since I was born. He wasn't crazy about him, but he knew I was standing firm on this!

Then there were the inlaws. As soon as we announced our engagement, my soon to be mother-in-law vehemently declared her opposition! To anyone and everyone, publicly and privately! She would barely speak to me, and when she did, it was in such a hateful tone of voice! And she would never look at me when she talked to me. She would only talk at me. I tried my best to get her to like me, but it was as if I were the devil in a dress, taking her son down to the depths of hell! I believe she truly hated me!

My father-in-law? I really don't know what he thought of me because he rarely spoke to me. He wasn't about to go against his wife, The Shrew! I was never really close to the rest of his family either. I was about to be married into a family consisting of a crazy woman and a bunch of hear-no, see-no, speak-no monkeys!!

Since the family really considered me to be a non-entity, I assumed that we could go about our merry way with little or no interference from the inlaws! Au contrare! Since she eventually realized that she was not going to be able to stop this wedding, she decided she was going to try to run the marriage! My husband, during the time of our engagement, stood up to his mother, many times protecting me from her tirades. After we were married though, it was as if he took a complete turn-about! He became her ally! He justified this by telling me it was just easier to go along with what she said than to stand up to her.

My own family truly cared for my husband, but they really didn't know him very well. But if I loved him and wanted to marry him, then he must be wonderful! They didn't know him well because he really didn't want to be around them! Not that he didn't like them, but he wasn't really comfortable around them. He may have been the only person on the planet who wasn't comfortable around my family!

Besides, visiting them would require travel. Which cost money. We had to drive four hours to visit my family! So we didn't do that very often. From time to time though his mother would call him with some crisis or other, and we would take off in our little economy car to see what she needed. They lived closer, only a three hour drive! And she needed him! My family? If we came for a visit, that was wonderful! If we couldn't, they understood. (Oh, and anytime we visited my family, my mother insisted on buying us a tank of gas.)

So, here I was. Barely in my twenties. Married to a man whose family didn't acknowledge me at best, hated me at worst! Married to a man who was the tightwad of all tightwads! Married to a man who held little regard for my wants, my needs, my opinions. Married to a man who felt he was the all-powerful Head of the Family! I had no idea where I fit in this marriage!

Months turned into years. I became very talented in walking on eggshells, never wanting to disagree with anything he might say. We rarely saw any of my family. We rarely argued.

Once we got out of college, some things improved. We eventually moved far enough that jumping in the car to visit his mother when she called was simply out of the question. And finances improved dramatically! We were able to buy a house and furnish it, although he was still pretty frugal to say the least about how much money we spent furnishing and accessorizing our home.

About a year later, he started murmuring about how our marriage just wasn't what he thought it should be! I don't think he wanted a divorce, but he wanted it to be different. He wanted me to do more of the things that he wanted to do. He never asked me what I wanted our marriage to be. It wouldn't have mattered anyway.

When he said our marriage needed to be different, I decided he was right! Our marriage didn't just need to be different, it needed to end! It was never going to be molded into a marriage that fit both of us. If we were going to be together, we had to start completely over. From scratch.

He was, to say the least, shocked! I was talking divorce?? At that moment, when I finally came to that conclusion, I could breath freely!

He moved out. I lived alone in our house for awhile. We actually continued to see each other, talked about our relationship. We even talked about trying again. He moved back in for about a week, but by that time, I was a different person. I was not the meek, mild-mannered, quiet wife he was used to. I had rediscovered myself! And I realized that I liked that person and didn't want to lose her again!

So we separated for good. A year nearly to the day of our first separation, we were legally divorced. On one hand it felt really good to be free. On the other hand, I didn't really believe divorce was right. I believed strongly (still do!) that marriage is supposed to be forever. But this marriage couldn't be forever.

I was abused. Not physically - he never laid a hand on me. But mentally and spiritually, I was beat down. I was not allowed my own opinion on anything. I was not allowed even to buy clothes unless he approved of the style and fashion. Our furniture and decorations were of his choosing. I showed him a picture from a magazine of something I liked - don't even remember what now. He looked at it and basically said I'd have to be stupid to like that. I distinctly remember him saying "I'd be stupid".

I think he considered me stupid. He considered me beneath him.

But stupid I wasn't! During the last two years of our marriage, unbeknownst to him, I squirrelled away my entire paycheck plus some in a joint savings account. He knew about the account, but had not idea how much money was in it. So, when it appeared inevitable that we were divorcing, he told me that I should just close that account and keep what little money (he thought!) was in it. Because I would need it. He was being generous, but I also think this was a way he thought he could still manipulate me. I said, "Fine. Thank you very much!" And moved several thousands of $$$ into my own separate account.

Nope! I wasn't stupid!

After we were divorced, he still tried to "manage" me and my life. He called me up one day and told me that he had found a car that I needed to buy. I told him, no, I didn't need a new car and didn't want to make car payments at that time. He was furious! I was liberated! The old me would have just gone along with him to keep peace. But I said No.

Finally, he realized that he was losing me for good. Not only was I no longer his wife, I was no longer someone over whom he could wield any power. He went into a deep depression requiring medication for some time. Me? I was weightless! I could breathe! I have no idea what has become of him or his family. I guess I don't really care.

I'm now married for many many years to a man who respects me, respects my opinion, respects my space. Not that we haven't had issues! We've even had arguments! It took me a long time to realize that it's okay to argue about things! Not only do we love each other, we actually like each other!

It's nice!

Stuff That's On My Desk

In a conversation with a friend this morning, he mentioned all the paperwork on his desk. I said that, because I work with digital data on computers, I didn't have much paper, but had lots of other things lying around!

Things on my desk right now:

My in/out basket which holds my calendar and very little else.
A stack of cd's that need to be filed away.
A mirror on a stand so I can tell if someone's sneaking up behind me.
Computer speakers.
A note paper holder.
A leather coaster with my Coke Zero sitting on it.
My camera that usually stays in my purse (but I haven't put it back yet)
A paring knife.
My reading glasses.
A pen.
My cell phone.
A rock coaster.
Office phone.
A bottle of hand lotion.
A coffee cup filled with pens.
A little jar filled with clips.
A stapler.
A tape dispenser.
My desk fan for when it gets too warm in here.
A holder for my business cards.
A holder for my yellow stickies.
A pad of pink stickies.
An 18" metal ruler.
Radio.
Two coffee cups
Box of tissues.
My car keys.
Computer monitors, mouse & mouse pad.
A FedEx box that I haven't opened yet.

I guess that's it!


So . . . what's on your desk?!?

Windmills!!

On our trip to West Texas this past week we drove a few hours after dark. Leaving one town heading north, we saw what looked to be towers with red flashing lights. Bazillions of 'em!!! I couldn't figure out what they were, but it finally dawned on my husband that they were windmills!! They look quite different in the dark!

Driving back home during the day we were able to get a better look at them. These were taken from my phone while driving on the highway. (Don't get me started on people driving while trying to do other things!!)




I've seen the props on oversized flatbed trucks from time to time. They're HUGE!!!

Wind power is a tremendous source of low-cost clean energy. And it's something that will never run out! If you've ever spent any time in West Texas you'll know about the wind! I don't believe wind energy will ever be the sole source like some proponents believe, but it's certainly a great option. Read more about it here.

Home!

Patience is home.

Patience is exhausted.

More later.

Absence

We're leaving for a few days, heading to West Texas. YeeHaw!

We have some good friends who are moving and need some help! Mostly they need help driving because they have more vehicles than drivers, even pulling one car! So we'll have four vehicles, including the U-Haul, and four drivers.

So, off we go! We'll be visiting lots of family & friends while we're there. It should prove a relaxing and enjoyable time away from the office, at any rate!

I'll have to catch up on everybody after we get back. I think the internet access where we'll be is pretty limited. So . . . don't forget about me!!

Unfriended!!!

I just realized that one of the blogs that I have been following nearly since I started blogging has removed me from their blogroll!!

Dang!!

Oh well . . . too bad.

Fun Monday! Office Art!

Fun Monday assignment for today comes from my pal Sayre. Her instructions are

Take your camera to work and take pictures of the things that inspire you as you work or that inspires your coworkers. Ask them (or yourself) what it is about that particular object or picture that makes the work day seem a little easier.

I have some nice plants, some nice family pics, etcs. But . . . boring!

I have a couple of things at my office that inspire me! This little man makes me smile. When I'm stressed, I just look at him and can't help but smile and breath a little easier. And if someone comes in my office who seems to be uptight, I just shake little Smiley at them and they can't help but smile too!



Then, there is my rock. This is an ordinary rock, nothing special about it. It's not a geological specimen. I don't even know what kind of rock it might be. I've had geologists & geophysicists & other earth scientists look at it, and they don't know what it might be either. The consensus for the type of rock this could be is simply, a rock.

The really interesting thing about this rock is how he came to be living with me. I really don't know. He appeared in my office 17 or 18 years ago! I left to go home one evening; he wasn't there. I came in the next morning; there he was! I've changed offices several times; he always found his way to me! So I figured he and I belonged together! When I left my former employer a couple of years ago, I lovingly packed him in a box and brought him to our new home!

Rocky. That's what I call him!

Him. I really don't know how to sex a rock. I really think rocks are pretty much unisex. But since I gave him a masculine name, I figure he can be a guy-rock.

Rocky is a conversation piece. Anyone new to my office always asks the same thing. "Ooh! What kind of rock is it?"

And my answer is whatever kind of rock you want it to be!

Update

. . . and he's even going to church!




For those who have been following the Patience family saga from the beginning, you remember that this blog started out with my dealing with my crack cocaine addicted stepson. He has been using and addicted to one of the most vile drugs around since he was in his very early 20's, or maybe before that. No one really knows when he started. He may not even remember.


Cocaine, especially in the form of crack, is one of the most addictive substances around. It falls right in there with heroin and methamphetamines. Most never really succeed in getting completely free. Most die young from the effects of either the drug itself or the lifestyle that comes with being a crack addict.


The drug will cause a multitude of health issues, the deadliest of these being the effect on the heart. Using just once can cause the heart to fibrilate and the person can die nearly immediately. The long term use can cause chronic heart problems.


The lifestyle that comes with being a crack addict include living on the street and all the criminal elements that go along with that. My stepson has been stabbed and beaten. He has gone for days without food (but not crack!)


He spent six months in prison for stealing from his only remaining friends at the time. When he got out he was determined to turn his life around because he didn't want to have to go back to prison, ever! That determination lasted two weeks before he was using again. Within a few months his use was as bad (or worse!) as it had ever been.


His family was forced to turn its back on him. Some call that tough love, but I call it survival. Because of his manipulation of family members and friends, this family was very nearly destroyed! It was only because of my hard-headedness that I didn't walk out on my marriage!


I'm not sure what happened to turn him around. About a year ago he started seeing a young woman, and that was about the time we noticed the change in him. They're still seeing each other and seem to be progressing nicely!


I hope his turning around wasn't solely because of his relationship with this woman. If that is the case, then he could easily go back if that relationship were to turn sour. My hope is that his turning around allowed him to establish a relationship, something that he has been unable to maintain at all since he was in high school.


She has a little boy who adores him! And he adores the little boy! I also have feared, that their relationship is tied to this little boy as much as it is to each other. And that is not a good basis for a relationship, but hopefully, it is much more than that!


He comes to church with her. That's something he hasn't done in many, many years! Sometimes she works weekends. For awhile, if she wasn't at church, neither was he. But lately, he comes whether she is there or not. And I see that as a very positive outcome!


Frankly, I never expected him to turn his life around. I expected to hear that he was arrested, in the hospital, or worse. Even still, I am cautious, but I can't help but see that there is some promise!


There are some things that may be permanently lost. His health is not good. My husband is afraid that he may have some heart issues. His diet has always been bad - mostly fast food or microwave ramen noodles. He smokes too much. He drinks too much. He is always so very tired after work.


His credit? What little he has is really bad. He still has outstanding hot checks, but for some reason warrants have never been issued. I'm not sure what the statute of limitations is on those.


And there's the issue of trust. The family has for the most part welcomed him back into the fold. But, he still is not trusted with . . . things. My husband will let him use some of our tools, but he (and I!) insist that he return them promptly. He doesn't have a key to our house, nor to his mother's house. I can't speak for her, but he will never have a key to my house!


I know that the first time something turns up missing or lost, he will be the first who comes to mind. He knows that and it bothers him a lot! He thinks that since he's been doing so well for several months, everything that has gone on in the past 15 or 20 years should just be forgotten!


But the past cannot be forgotten. It was too much. Too many lies, too many stolen items, too many break-ins. Forgiveness is not a problem. Trust? Still a problem. No matter how many years may go by, trust may always be a problem. And that is sad, but it is just one of the consequences of a lifestyle of drugs.


He never has gotten much help for his addiction. He was in rehab 3 or 4 times, but it was forced. He went on the threat of homelessness. And at least part of the time, he lied about going. He never wanted any kind of treatment, because this would require him having a problem that he couldn't control. He has never admitted to his uncontrolled addiction, at least not to me. Just as the alcoholic, he needs ongoing treatment because cocaine addiction is a never-ending problem.




In the next few weeks, I'm going to move forward with this blog. I will be archiving those posts which deal with his addiction and the effects on our family. I'm hoping to lighten things up a bit! I may revive Wednesday Vignettes. I haven't done those in awhile, but I enjoyed collecting those newsy items. I've enjoyed doing Fun Monday, so I'll probably continue that.

I think it's time for my sake to move ahead. I have done that personally, so I think it is time that I take this blog in a new direction also.

I'm well aware that things could change. If that happens, I'm not sure how I'll react. I'm not sure if I'll revive the old posts, but I think it important that everyone understand the impact that drug addiction has on all of us!

I'll let you know how things go! Stay tuned!!

Sacred Mornings

Every morning during the week I am up before dawn. My retired husband generally gets up just in time to see me leave. Which is the way I like it!!

I am not, you might say, in my best humor in the morning. Meaning, don't talk to me. Don't get in my way. Don't look at me!!

This morning? He decides he needs to get up early. I don't know why. I don't care!! I just know he was there, in my bathroom, using my mirror! Ack!!!

He must have realized somehow that he was invading my morning space, because he quickly grabbed up his toiletries and fled for the other bathroom. Perhaps it was the look on my face when I discovered there was water on the counter that I didn't put there! Perhaps it was my tone of voice when I asked him quietly "why are you up so early?!?"

Tomorrow, he will sleep later.

Happy Endings!

He was a hero who needed a hero!

Captain Richard Phillips put his life on the line to save his crew and ship. That's when the United States Navy showed up!

U. S. Naval Destroyer Bainbridge

The pond-sucking scum Somali pirates didn't know who they were dealing with!!

Happy Easter!

Farting is not Funny!!

Don't fart in Waco, Texas. In the right company, it can get you stabbed!

Police were called to a motel room where several men were sharing a room. Apparently Juan Castellano passed gas. It musta been a good'n because one of the other men picked up a knife, threw it at him, cutting him in the leg! He then proceeded to stab Castellano in the chest.

Castellano is in the hospital, expected to recover. Hopefully, he will remember to always carry Gas-X.

The attacker will be spending some time in the Waco jail and is expected to be charged with aggravated assault.

Fun Monday!

(Please recheck the list - there are a few latecomers!)

My Summer Vacation!

The Family Patience rarely takes vacations in the summer. The summer is when all the school-age children are out of school and vacationing! As much as we love kids, we'd rather not have a gazillion kids I don't know (or even some I do know!) around me on vacation! We're selfish that way!

When I was a child, our vacations were always in the summertime. Because we were out of school! Along with all the other gazillion kids! With seven of us, our vacations were simple, always a road trip, always including extended families, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins.

I was about 4 or 5 years old the first time my family and I made the trek to "The Mountains."

"The Mountains" were in New Mexico, near Taos. Now this was before Taos became the hot tourist place and ski resort it now is. This was when Taos was a little Indian (not pc anymore!) reservation where the children sold trinkets and tour guides would take you around the little village where the people lived.


We went there every summer for maybe ten years. Grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. We all converged at the same time!


There were one-room log cabins with from four to six beds, a wood-burning stove, a kitchen table with chairs, and not much more. No running water, no bathroom. There was a communal bathhouse with showers just a short walk away.

It was great!!!

This little resort was in somewhat of a valley, so we were surrounded by mountains! Most every day would mean a hike up one of the mountains.

And every day also meant fishing! This was why my grandfather came after all! From early morning until he brought his catch home at evening, he was fishing. My brothers loved it. Me? I really couldn't be still enough or quiet enough to fish. They'd send me away.

But I was pretty good at bait catching! Grasshoppers were everywhere! They'd send us out with a matchbox and we'd catch grasshoppers in our hands and stick 'em in the box. Sometimes I'd actually get the latest catch into the box without letting more out!

In the evenings the grandmothers, mothers, and aunts would cook the day's catch. The only way they knew how to cook fish was to roll it in cornmeal and fry it, usually along with fried potatoes and maybe some beans of some sort.



It was great!!



Of course, in order to cook anything, there had to be wood burning. There was always a huge wood pile outside, along with an axe to chop it with. I was too little to do much damage, but my brothers and older boy cousins would get after it! What they could chop in an hour - all 6 or 7 of them - my dad would have finished in just a few minutes, had it inside the stove and burning!


There were little animals everywhere, birds, woodchucks, deer. The water in the creeks ran ice-cold, even in the summer. And it was crystal clear! Pure!

Would I go there now? No running water? No bathroom facilities in my room? No air conditioning?


You bet I would! In a heartbeat!!


My brother found the old resort several years ago, but the owners weren't renting out the cabins anymore. Apparently they were quite in disarray after so many years, and it would cost too much money for necessary repairs. Besides that, now people tastes have changed. Now we require the amenities of the more luxurious resorts!


They're probably gone now, sold and remade into condos or something much more lucrative than a little cabin resort in the mountain valley. It's kind of sad, but I doubt in reality it would ever be as wonderful as it is in my memory! So, perhaps it's best to leave it there! Luxuriating in my thoughts of summers gone by!


Check out this post for a list of the players!

Jill over at Lilmouse will be hosting next on Monday, April 13. Anybody up for hosting on April 20??

Baby Bangs!

Is your newborn baby bald? Do people mistake your lovely baby girl for a boy? Then this may be the answer to your problem!!

http://www.babybangshairband.com/


For FunMonday info, see this post!

Fun Monday . . . Comin' Up!!

Fun Monday for April 6!

I'm hosting! I'm not worthy!! (but I'm willing so I guess they'll take anybody!)

My fun topic will be (drum roll please)

How I'll Spend My Summer Vacation!

Y'know, it's getting on to that time of year. Everyone's already thinking of what they'll be doing on their summer vacation. So, let's hear about it already!! (And pictures are always welcome!)

And if you're not planning a vacation, tell us about vacations past. (Please. Keep it clean! If you can.)

The Patience Family never takes a summer holiday because we don't have to vacation with little people, and thus don't have to plan trips around school schedules! We can take our vacations with other grownups who also don't have to deal with children. So our summer vacation usually falls in the fall! Y'know when it's not so hot! Around the end of September or first of October we hit the road! Great time of year for a vacation!

So. Let's hear it. What're ya gonna do? What fun tales of past summer vacations do you have?

Wanna play for Monday, April 6?? Leave me a comment and I'll link ya! Try to do that by Saturday, but it doesn't really matter. Even if you wait until Monday, I'll link ya anyway!

Jill over at Lilmouse will be hosting next on Monday, April 13. Anybody up for hosting on April 20??

Here are the players for this week!

Sayre

ChrisB

HulaGirl

Faye

Jan

ChurchLady

Gattina

Jill (our host for next week!)

Mariposa

Hootin' Anni

Margaret

Tracey

Jientje

Molly

Anybody else?? Let me know if you wanna play and I'll add your name to the list!

Easter Baskets: Share a Story

Wisconsin Candy Dish is hosting this week's

The topic is Easter Baskets: Share a Story

Here's mine!

When I was a child, we lived in a very small town in far north Texas. My cousins were oh so lucky to live on a ranch about 200 miles from us. At easter time, we would alternate each year. One year they would come to our house, the next we would go to theirs! I always wanted to go to their house! They had animals, sheep, goats. They had a pond where we could swim. We would go all day until dinner time without seeing an adult! It was heaven for a kid!!

Saturday was always spent dying and decorating easter eggs. It was practically a day-long event! Eight kids or more around the kitchen table with cups of brightly colored egg dye. Four or five dozen boiled eggs, ready to dye. We had wax markers used to make designs on the eggs. (Apparently the dye wouldn't stick to the wax!) We'd mix and match colors, dying eggs in strange configurations!

We made the most horrifically ugly easter eggs ever seen!

But we had a great time! And the adults let us be free with our creativity! (as long as we cleaned up the mess!)

Sunday afternoon we kids were relegated to inside the house, drapes pulled, while the adults hid the eggs outside. They'd hide them in things, under things, behind things, on top of things! Some were hidden in plain view!

Then, we'd go crazy looking for the eggs! Running everywhere, baskets in hand!

Then, once the egg hunt was done, no egg could be eaten until they were all counted and accounted for! If one was missing, we had to go find it! Nothing smells worse after a few weeks than an unfound easter egg!!

We'd sit out on the porch with a salt shaker, peeling and eating eggs, until we couldn't eat another! Then the rest were all confiscated and made into egg salad, ham salad, tuna salad, potato salad, or whatever else they did with boiled eggs.

I haven't seen these cousins in many, many years. It's sad that we lost contact with each other because we were all once so close. One cousin lost his family because he became an alcoholic and drug addict. One lost a son to prison, a baby grandchild to SIDS. One lost a husband, but found another one.

We left the idyllic childhood of hunting easter eggs, swimming in ponds, riding bikes, chasing goats, and became adults, with adult problems and concerns.

But always, when I think of these cousins, I think of easter. I think of all the fun we had dying ugly easter eggs. And finding them after they'd been hidden. I can still taste the boiled eggs!