I'm killing time at the airport, headed home from a work trip. Just watched a very excited family welcoming their son/fiance/brother/uncle home. They had a big banner printed, and the niece/nephew made a poster with photo, glitter glue, and little handprints. A bystander helped by taking photos that would not include the security area [no photos of that allowed]. Some other people went up and thanked the serviceman for his service. My eyes are a little damp.
So, we got a 5 a.m. phone call from our son yesterday morning, not that long before I left, saying he wanted to come over and talk right now. He lost a friend and went to the funeral this week; his neighbor's cancer came back; he also wanted to talk about losing two more people not so long ago. He's only 23. The losses were freaking him out. So was the open casket, displaying the bruises of a young woman killed in a bike accident. My heart breaks that he is struggling with so much grief, so young. And yet, my heart is full that my grown boy really cares, and that he wanted to talk about these terrible sorrows. He is a very good man.
In travel hilarity, my hotel [in an effort to accomodate all needs] featured a combination laundry room and business center in the lobby. Srsly! Finding the ice machine was kind of an ongoing treasure hunt; I kept encountering wandering guests with ice buckets, asking for clues. ["On second! Take 2 rights from the elevator!"] But it was a perfectly nice hotel, and I had a lot of fun meeting one of my "invisible internet friends," as my husband calls them.
Soon I'll be back in the mundane world, where cats rule and nobody likes doing the dishes. What's happening in your world?
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52 comments:
Oh, kathy, your poor son. That much is hard for anyone.
I'm glad you put up a whining post, because boy do I have a list.
* Aunt Rearrange the Silverware is here.
* Sweet Baboo started barking at church this morning and can hardly keep anything down.
* She had to miss the HUGE Easter party at the neighbors' house, which I had been advertising enthusiastically.
In antiwhines,
* barking happened NOT in the sanctuary, but in the bathroom. And, she's a pretty tidy barker, all things considered.
* The pediatrician lives across the street and was amenable to an out-of-office consultation this afternoon. Srsly. Big AW. This is one of the good guys.
Safe travels, kathy. Hopefully I'll be back later with better news.
poor sweet! good thing easter is next week, and she will surely be better in time. kudos to the excellent neighbor ped!
i think what aunt silverware needs is a lot of baboo help. [post barks.] it will keep everyone busy. ;)
Doing taxes. For some reason, even though it was not MY idea for us to do them ourselves, I am the one doing them, while MS is soundly sleeping.
Why?
the tax fairy thinks you should just whomp him on the head with as many forms as it takes.
Ha! HA! The one form I couldn't find is HIS W2!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Filled out an extension form, paid a estimated amount (stab in the dark...what can we afford this minute?), and chewed his tushy out this morning.
liz, that's hilarious, except i'm sure it was not so amusing in the moment.
so, i got home last night, tired from the trip, and had a meltdown. my beloved realized that the version of IE on my New Computer was sub-optimal, and he upgraded it without even asking me -- my computer has sensitive work things on it, and nobody is allowed to use it without my permission and supervision -- but the killer for me was that the entire setup of IE8 is totally different, and i thought i had lost the favorites list that i spent so much time setting up last week. wah!
later, i found where my favorites were hidden in the new setup. his excuse was that he was trying to do me a favor, and i know that's true. but i should never have given him my secret password.
(((((kathy a))))) plenty o hugs....
Esperanza - I have a Sister of Rearrange the Siverware. She is the eldest of four, I the youngest. Tell me there isn't a Master's thesis in that!
The week (as in, for us Christian types) has officially begun and I feel like a horse that has been let out of the gates at the Kentucky Derby. Only I don't get roses at the end. People just walk over my limp exhausted body on their way to !Easter! Brunch!
I used to love Holy Week. Now I just wish it away, then feel guilty about wishing it away. If I believed in he'll, I would ao be going there.
AW: I have next week OFF! Yay!
Holy Week is the punishment inflicted upon you in exchange for not having to go through the brouhaha that is Passover for the religiously Jewish.
W: Woke up this morning to the delightful dulcet tones of a harmonious cat bark occurring on my dresser, which is about two feet from my side of the bed.
Just lovely.
Hugs for all who face silverware re-arrangement. I have never faced such a thing - I assume they are covert at this activity? Because my screech of what are you doing? would not be silent.
Sorry for the Holy Week / Passover woes.
And Liz - how frustrating about the taxes. Oy! We had friends who weren't available for a visit this weekend because it was tax weekend.
Whine: potty training, spring break for the kids but I still have to go to work, dentist appointments for me and the two big kids, and its keeps snowing. C'mon spring, please?
Sarah, she does it under cover of cleaning up the kitchen. Which betrays the pettiness of my whining and my ungratefulness. She is a wonderful, caring, and kind person. Who just doesn't care for the way my silverware is arranged.
Also, my hearty sympathies on your potty training whine.
Liz, we decided long ago that it was worth whatever it cost to pay someone else to do our taxes. For the sake of our marriage, if nothing else.
kathy a., I'm peeved on your behalf on the computer thing. I have it like I *like* it, so leave it alone!
AW: Sweet feels much better today. And nobody else seems to have gotten teh ick.
I am not even going to report the drama now surrounding his W2.
You would not believe me if I told you.
Hugs to all dealing with bark, either animal or kidical.
Liz, sorry re: your tax woes. I've never even tried to do ours. It's sooooo complicated by the fact that my housing allowance (because our church has no parsonage/manse) is non-taxable income. Most clergy I know have been audited at least once. It's as if Canada Revenue looks at it and thinks "No way. That's just too good to be true."
They should look at the rest of the numbers before they think we're livin' large.
Anyway, good luck with the rest of yours.
they audit clergy? non-televangelists? amazing use of governmental resources, that.
liz, i second the recommendation to hire someone. not only does my tax guy understand this stuff, but it forces me to get the documentation and numbers together early -- if something turns up missing, there is time to find it. [oh, yeah -- i'm always missing something...]
very long to do list today. must resist strong urge to blow it all off, since i worked the weekend. will do the most urgent 4-5 things.
Yep, Canada Revenue is very interested in the bit of cash we make. Most bizarre, really. I think it all has to do with the amount of non-taxable income (usually around $10,000) that is still part of the T4, but somehow separate.
It confuses they little brainz.
Whine: Funeral Saturday. Easter weekend.
Of course.
Worst part: the son of the deceased is an old school chum of mine from the 'hood where I grew up. He's my age and he's retiring this week. I would scream or cry or something, but I don't have time. Too much work to do.
At least I'm not bitter.
kathy, the U.S. audits clergy, too (not me, thank goodness). Same reason--housing allowances are non-federal-taxable, but are social-security taxable. And we're considered self-employed. Sort of. See why we hire someone?
Whine: I jinxed us on teh ick. Sweet seems to feel fine, except for runny pook which comes at alarmingly frequent intervals. And Mr. E has it too. Can Mini and I stand firm? (ew, I can't believe I just wrote that, but in some sick corner of my mind, it's funny, so I'm leaving it there).
AW: at least the whiny part is over for Sweet. Mr. E is severely afflicted with that part.
esperanza, sorry for the Return of Teh Ick. Just ick.
Thanks, Sue.
Complicating my whine is that I agreed to fill in for a sick preacher on Easter Sunday (a rare opportunity for a substitute preacher like me). I agreed because I knew we would have extra hands around (g'parents visiting). However, the G'parents are not so excited about coming any more, since Teh Ick is definitely contagious. Hmm. Sunday morning is looking complicated.
Sympathies on teh ick, teh fireplacing cancer and teh tax misery.
Much of the same here.
((((((Days))))))
Fireplacing cancer.....
Old Skool: ya know, it really bugs me when people put those updates on fb that start out by saying "you probably won't post this as your status because most people don't....." and then goes on to say that if you ever loved your mother you HAVE to post it.
Well, my mother has been dead for twenty years, and she knew I loved her even before fireplacing Facebook thankyouverymuch.
((( days ))) xoxo
1- teh screaming toddler is back, this time in the kitchen. Why? I won't let him have candy before dinner. Dinner is on the table and everyone else is done eating. We is still screaming. Thank you day care for sending home a pile of suger-filled Easter eggs at dinner time.
2- ultrasound today, and another baby who won't cooperate with the gender check. I guess we'll have another surprise.
3- nephew fell and broke an important facial bone. Surgery in a couple days. He's confined to the couch until then, because another fall could mean bad things for his eyesight.
4- snow. again. grrr.
5- and hail.
(PSA: skylights in bedrooms + hail = so loud you won't be able to sleep. There for skylights in bedrooms are not recommended. Also, the moon shines in your eyes in the middle of the night. t is not romantic, it hurts your eyes.)
"There for" should be "therefore"
and "It is not romantic"
wow... I needed an editor tonight.
jenr -- sounds like you need to be in a different county than the tantrum and the hail, that's all.
Oh, JenR. We had a "you can have more if you say please" standoff at the table tonight. I "won," if you can call it that.
Ah yes, the day care sugar-highs. Lovely. NOT. ((((JenR)))
We had that "wake you up in the middle of the night hail" last week. And we don't even have a skylight! It was really really loud....
Nice table win esperanza!
TMI Whine: Darn yeast infection. Bad one, accompanied by bleeding - my first incident of same since last visit from Aunt F in 2006. Soooooo....quick run to the all night drug store where I buy the standard fix-up-yer-troubles-overnight kit and a package of panty liners. Did you know they changed the no-name box?????
On the way out the clerk says "Have a nice night!" I looked at her and said, "Um, thanks for the sentiment, but really, there's not much chance of that actually happening."
Anti-whine: I think I made her night. She was still chuckling when I got to the door.
Oh, Sue, I needed that laugh. Thanks, but I'm sorry it was at your expense.
Do we need to change the slogan to: It's not Holy Week till the minister has a yeast infection?
Blech, hope you are better pronto.
my ob just left me 3 phone messages while I was in a meeting (cell, desk, home). Unlike her nurse, she did not say "don't worry - nothing urgent" before asking for a call back. I'm scared and she is with a patient. Now I have to wait for her to call back. I hate today.
((( jenr ))) xoxox
JenR - crossing my finger for minor. My OB for baby #3 was very dramatic and I hopes yours is being so too.
Sue - wow, what a weekend. You are actually making me look forward to be predictable and boring family affair. Get well soon. Strength for audits and funerals and Holy Week.
Esperanza - stand firm. And think iron stomach. And beg the grandparents. :)
(((JenR))) I hope everything is okay.
hmph. my beloved also found my emergency stash of thin mints, and broke out a box. he claims it was an emergency.
i'm taking a baby quilt today to my son's neighbor, the one whose cancer came back, and tucking in a box of restorative thin mints. i hear his whole family is over, so that box won't last long.
the very last box is saved for someone else. it's only april, people! i'm already turning to the black market, but my main source is running low herself and has none to spare.
(((jenR)))
kathy a.--that's distressing! Hope you can find another source.
Sympathy to everyone dealing with inappropriate bodily discharges, or other ick.
I was really excited to find Passover chocolates of a type that I hadn't seen since my childhood. I bought them, when I saw them (which is almost two months ago now, because the Easter/Passover displays went up right after Valentines Day). They were on the expensive side, but worth it--right? Well, we finally opened them and (you guessed it), they are not as good as I remember. They are actually different (hard centers rather than soft) so I don't think it's just my fuzzy/child memory.
On the upside--homemade almond macaroons--yum!
(((JenR) I'm also hoping for an over-dramatic OB!
Germ Level Alert has been dropped to yellow. Sweet and Mr E are on the mend. Mini and I are still standing strong.
JenR, hoping for a serious anti-climax on that.
Sarah, I'd beg the g'parents, but they are supposed to bring great-grandma too. She is 92. I don't want a 92 year old with a stomach virus on my conscience, you know?
Oh Esperanza - that's a tough one. Hope the ick alert drops even further.
Apparently the doc is just overly thorough in trying every number, and then not clear about it not being a rush. The news was that everything looked fine on the ultrasound and the baby is sized right for the due date. The nurse who finally called back apologized for the doctor worrying me. Whew.
Sorry for taking so long to update... I left work right after that, got 10 inches cut off my hair (to be donated as soon as I find a padded envelope), and then got the call from the nurse. I celebrated by spending too much at a snooty baby store.
Hugs everybody.
Whew. Thanks for the update. Yay for right-sized babies.
Passover Chocolates!!! Awesome!! (we haven't done Easter chocolate since hubby got diabetes)
Yay JenR! I'm so glad it was just an overly thorough doc. Also glad to hear that the nurse apologized. That was really kind of her.
Kathy a. - I wish I could suggest an underground thin mint operation, but I am seriously out of that loop.
yay, jenr!
squeeee! i got to snuggle a teeny tiny baby!! she is just the cutest thing ever. it is hard to even remember how small they are at the start, those tiny fingers and big eyes and whispy hair.
So happy, JenR. Yay for healthy babies! And tiny new ones like KathyA snuggled.
Yay for new babies! There was a scene on Nurse Jackie recently about the heavenly smell of new babies' necks. Nothing quite like it.
Keep whining! Awards early Friday.
BIG AW: Hubby has found a new local neurologist. She is wonderful. We're feeling really blessed today.
YAY!
Yay for healthy babies and good doctors.
Just in time for the long weekend, a deeply ingrown and infected toenail has made its appearance on my boy's foot.
Feet make me gag.
days, aaaack! any chance he can be seen today? and yikes, i predict yelling at a minimum....
ick.
late breaking whine--picked up the college girl yesterday afternoon for the long weekend:
Her: "Mom, I spilled soda on my computer, but I wiped it up and it's ok."
Me: (thinking) "whew"
Her: (about 30 minutes after we get home) "my computer doesn't work!"
Me: (thinking) "aw, carp"
AM appointment with the Apple geniuses--hope they live up to their name!
bleah -- the awards are all written, but for some reason they won't post. will try again later.
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