'Tis past time for another post

And there is so much going on that I'd like to discuss. Actually, so much has happened in the last three months that I'm having trouble sorting it out to write about it.

Therefore, random thoughts:

I broke my toe on June 1st. Baby toe, right foot, by stubbing it on a chair leg. Sucker hurt for two months, but has healed now and no longer hurts when I twist the toe. Cutting that toenail was a bitch for a while.

I wrecked the car on the 20th of July in Clintonville, West Virginia. Clintonville is a wide spot in the road due east of Sam Black Church, West Virginia. Yep, the name of the hamlet/village/whistle-stop is Sam Black Church. That amuses me.

On the 20th of August the kids started the new school year. Praise all the possible gods. Much of July I spent trying to avoid my children. Took Sproing on a road trip to separate him and Diva. Left him with Light in Pennsylvania to get away from him. (Unfortunately, escaping from my kids also involved escaping from my husband, which I don't want to do. It was so good to get back with him.) Now that they are in school or en route from 7:30 til after 4:00, my life is much more peaceful. Though I dread the school bus bringing them home in the afternoon. Afternoons and evenings are long and tedious.

The week before school started was very difficult, children-wise. Well, mostly Diva. On Tuesday she shoved me into a wall and called me a 'ho. I called the police. On Thursday she attacked Superman, kicking and scratching and pulling at him. I called the police. When the police come out, we file complaints against her which are turned over to Dept. of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) who in turn send it to the solicitor's office. We've yet to see anything done in response to these complaints. I'm about ready for her to go to jail.

But since school started a week ago she's been fine. No fighting, no arguing, no back-talk, no cursing. She and Sproing are even getting along with each other. It's only a matter of time before she gets all Jerry Springer on us again. I enjoy her cooperative attitude, but I don't trust her. We're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I'm spent. Emotionally drained. Tired. Unmotivated to do much. There are things I'd like to accomplish around the house, but for the last week all I've done is sit in my chair and surf the internet or watch Netflix movies.

Right now the rest of the family is at home. Superman has a headache and is resting. The kids just washed my truck. I need to go check on that. Then I should do something about supper.

There is much more I want to discuss, stuff like feelings and observations, but that will have to wait for another time. It's time to get off my fat ass and do something useful.

I've been surprisingly busy

A lot has happened since last I wrote. Sorry for the lack up updates, for those of you who care about this kind of thing. Here's what's happening.

• Our air conditioner went out Friday afternoon. We are not amused. We are also very hot.
• Superman is building screen frames for our windows. We used to have screens in the windows, but they have deteriorated or broken or been attacked by kids and cats until we no longer have window screens. He built the first one this morning, and it is now installed on our bedroom window.
• I saw Diva on Thursday. It was our mother/daughter relationship-building session. I took knitting needles and re-introduced her to knitting. She did fairly well. We had a pleasant and positive interaction, but I don't feel as though it was "real" in any meaningful sense. She was on her good behavior, and I was putting on a show for the therapists at the facility. Whatever. We'll go through the motions, and maybe something real will come of it eventually, but I doubt it.
• After my visit with Diva I went to Target and bought a new wallet and a small purse. We don't have a Target in this po-dunk town, so it was sort of thrilling, in that "I don't like to shop for that kind of thing" way. So I got a wallet, and I don't like it. It seemed better in the store, but upon getting home and transferring my stuff into it, the wallet doesn't do what I need it to do. I haven't done anything else about it yet. Don't have the energy.
• When Superman got home Thursday evening, he said "Let's go to the Verizon store and get our new phones." It was time, and our old phones were worn out. He convinced me to get a Blackberry. He got one too, but amusingly enough, he gave it to Twitch today and got himself a simpler phone. Twitch and Light got their new phones today. So Twitch made out sweet with his own Blackberry. Whatever.
• My advice to all who will take heed: do not get a new wallet, new purse, and a new phone all in the same day. Each one takes a while to get used to, especially a phone. It feels as though I've moved into a new house, having to learn my way around these new information spaces.
• Twitch is home for the weekend, just to visit. And to get a new phone. And to help move his sister out of her dorm and back home for the summer. He's worked a lot this weekend, but got a friggin' Blackberry out of the deal, so I don't feel sorry for him!
• And Light is home for the summer. It's good to have her home again. She's a positive, stabilizing force in this household. She takes good care of me. I feel slightly guilty that she's more of a caretaker than I am in this relationship, but I'm too busy with other stuff to let it bother me now.
• Did I mention that the air conditioner is broken? Superman is afraid it might be dead, or close enough to dead to make no real difference. It's not a new unit by a darn sight, and has needed to be replaced for a while anyway. It's been limping along for the past three years. Last year it didn't give us any trouble, praise FSM. The year before, though, it went out a few times. That was the year, if I recall, that the washing machine and the air conditioner both quit on us. Anyway, the a/c might need to be replaced this year. I'm not thrilled about the expense, but a new unit will be nice. We shall see. And by the way, I'm miserably hot. I do not like to be hot. We've gone over this many times before, and I won't belabor the point (I'll try, anyway), but yeah, I'm uncomfortable.
• I have a nasty infection in my right ear. Or on my right ear. It's in the soft tissue at the entrance of the ear canal, including the ear lobe. The lymph node at the back of my jaw is sore and swollen, as is the next lymph node below that, at my neck. It's hard to tell because of all the extra fat, but the right side of my jaw and neck are swollen. The ear canal is nearly swollen shut, and I can't hear very well in that ear. It's all very uncomfortable. I saw the doctor on Thursday afternoon, and am on an antibiotic. Things haven't seemed to improve much yet, though. It hurts and itches, which is a real bitch because it hurts to scratch it. That, plus I'm hot and sweaty (and not in a good way) puts me in something of a cranky mood.
• I bought myself a little inflatable pool yesterday. It's a rectangle, big enough for me to stretch out and almost float in. Not quite deep enough for a complete float, but it is cool and nice. I spent some time in it yesterday. I'd be in it today except that I need to drive Twitch back to school very soon.
• Sproing went with me on Friday to get Twitch. We first went to Light's college and picked up a load of her stuff. The little Aveo was really packed with her stuff, Sproing, and Twitch in it. Sproing and I spent eight hours together, most of it just the two of us. We had a blast! It was 99 & 44/100ths % fun. In a 12-year-old humor sort of way, but I can get into that when the mood strikes. Yes, we talked about farts and buggers.
• He wants to go with me to take Twitch back this afternoon, but he's acting like a little twerp and I'm not sure if I will take him.

And that's about it. I have a solo day trip coming up on Wednesday that I'll probably blog about on Thursday. Superman and I see Diva for more family therapy on Tuesday. My ear should get better soon, and if it doesn't I'll go back to the doctor. And now you know.

Day of meh

It's been a while. I'm going to ramble on for a while about stuff. (get out now, while you still can!!)

I took an exam in my Death and Dying class. I studied. I knew the information, but didn't know it "cold" as Superman says. I blanked on one of the essay questions, and missed a few others here and there. 78. I hate it. My own damned fault. I don't wanna talk about it anymore.

Diva. It's been 12 days since she went into the hospital. She's still there, though she should have been moved by now. There aren't any beds open in any of the long-term care facilities, at least none that accept our insurance. (insert rant about insurance and the general state of health care, specifically mental health care, here) There is nothing available within 60 miles of home, though if we extend the service area 200 miles, there are a few places that qualify. We could go to Macon, GA (we lived there for a few years, back in the day). Chattanooga, TN has, I think, two facilities. That's the area where my in-laws live. That could be interesting. There's a facility down on the south coast of South Carolina, iirc. There may be something in North Carolina, though I don't remember Superman saying so specifically. He's the one who has been making the calls about all this. He really is a super man.

As of now, the tentative plan is to move her on Monday to the facility right down the road from where she is now, there in Columbia, for a temporary placement. This is the place that doesn't accept our insurance, but there's some kind of override they can do, since there isn't anything else available. If a bed opens up soon, she can go to the place where Sproing spent the last five months. I know they're good. Not perfect, I have a couple of issues with the place, but overall they're quite good. Her condition is very different from his. Whatever is wrong with that child is no small thing, and cannot (in my estimation, and it's an educated hypothesis) be "fixed." Treated, improved, possibly. But not repaired.

Both of my college kids have been on spring break this week. Twitch has been here since last... Friday? Thursday? Light got home Friday, but on Wednesday went to Charleston to spend a few days with an old friend. Classes resume for both of them on Monday. Superman will take Twitch back this afternoon, zip down to Columbia in time for visiting hours @ Diva's current residence, then rendezvous with Light afterwards. That saves Light's friend from having to drive all the way to Greenwood. I like efficiency. Then tomorrow sometime Superman will take Light back to school. We're putting a bunch of miles on that little car. I'm so glad we don't have to drive the old van anymore!

The official count day for the census was Thursday, April 1st. (Which, coincidentally, is Superman's birthday. He turned 50 this year!) With all the upheaval in our life, family, and home recently, we waited until April 1st to fill it out. When it came in the mail a few weeks ago, Diva was home and Sproing was still away, though his return was imminent. The best-laid schemes o' mice an men gang aft agley, as sad experience attests, so I didn't assume anything before the fact. 'Tis filled out now, and went out in Friday's post.

The weather has warmed; spring is full and truly here. I forget, from year to year, how much I dislike spring. I remember the pretty, and there is lots of that. I forget the pollen, and there is a LOT of that. My allergies are in full bloom, along with everything else. The sunshine, though nice, is getting intense. It hurts me to be out in the sun for very long. The closer we are to the summer solstice, the quicker the sun pains me. Anyone who has read this blog for more than six months knows that I don't suffer the heat well. (OK, to be honest, I don't suffer anything well.) I do appreciate the sunlight as it shines through my windows and into my comfortably filtered, air conditioned home.

I've done something to my right hand. My baby finger hurts where it joins the hand. It feels like a muscle/ligament inflammation. I have buddy taped the finger to its adjacent ring finger. Typing is tricky. I'm having trouble specifically with the "p" and the apostrophe, quotes, and question mark. The damned thing has been hurting since Thursday and doesn't seem to be improving much. We are not amused.

I watched the movie Philadelphia yesterday. It's a classic, one of those movies every gay man must see, and I hadn't seen it yet. It finally came around on the Netflix queue. It is a very good movie. I knew it would be difficult to watch, but it wasn't as hard as I expected. I also received one of the gay movies on my list, though I can't now recall the title. I hope to watch it today. It has the potential to be good, but so many of those indy gay flicks are terrible. Even the bad ones can be fun to watch, though, if only for the tragicomedy of the train wreck.

Spelling:

• Accommodate has more letters than I expect it to have.
• Repair or repare? I can never remember.
• Derogation is a new one I learned this week. It was one of the answers I did remember on my Death and Dying exam. I've known "derogatory" but hadn't used, to my knowledge, the noun form. Had a time trying to figure out how to spell it.

And that's all I can remember in spelling-related news this week.

That's all I'm going to say for now. Anything else would go even deeper into the whiny depressive morass (another spelling challenge) of my consciousness. It ain't pretty.

Cooties

I lifted this off the "Just David!" blog. I had to have it for my own!