The Craziness of Life

Our dog, Sparky, is so busy during warm weather when there are grand kids here, that he just drops at night.  It's so funny to watch this old, crotchety dog morph into Nanny Dog!  If any grand kids are in the back yard, he feels duty-bound to be out there with them.  If he's not, they might get too close to the fence. Or  **gasp** a neighbor may speak to them.  Not to mention, one of the dastardly squirrels might sit on the tree over the swing set.  Or the neighbor's stupid cat might decide to sit outside the fence and meow.  And, what were the humans thinking in putting a slide in the yard?  Even if I could catch him on video, you just wouldn't believe the frantic mess Sparky is when he has a grandchild to guard!

Yesterday was a day that I hope I don't have to repeat soon!  My mother's room at the nursing center was one (of several) that the State Fire Marshal flagged as a safety hazard.  I got the call on Wednesday.  The inspection for correction is this coming Tuesday.  Jessica and I spent 4.5 hours(!) going through everything in her room and removing stuff.  We took out 3 bags of trash (old envelopes, scraps of paper, food that was outdated [Thank you, family members and friends that take her food]), 50 gazillion cassette tapes, 150 CDs, about the same number of DVDs, and 7 King James Version Bibles!  There were, also, 5 notebooks that had 4-5 pages used in each.  Oh, and don't let me forget, there was a plastic basket FULL of greeting cards (of every description) most of them were not mated with envelopes, and there was NO! SEMBLANCE! of order.  We removed a bookshelf and a plastic drawer unit, two laundry baskets of stuff, and several cloth shopping bags full of more stuff.

Mom was so upset that her oxygen level dropped to 62% at one point.  She cried.  She said that someone was always picking on her.  She asked if everyone was satisfied that she was going to be miserable. Having to parent my mother is incredibly emotionally draining!

After Jessica and I got everything back to my house, I started going through it and trying to make some decisions about stuff to keep and stuff to get rid of.  Another 3 hours passed quickly.  Then I spend over 1.5 hours sorting greeting cards and trying to match them with envelopes.  I have enough cards to take care of several families' needs for the rest of my life! Hallmark will not be making any money off of me.  Also, in going through the cards, and books, and notebooks, and .....  we found 64 postage stamps. The Forever version.  I won't have to buy postage for her for a long while!

Today I am going to do as little as possible.  I must go to the grocery.  I must do dishes.  I must cook supper. I must pick up David Riley from school and Eva from the daycare.  Everything else can wait!