On the Road Again...

I'm heading to the mountains today! Time to check on the house and the kid and enjoy early fall. The leaves are starting to change here in the Atlanta suburbs so I imagine there are some changes up in Northeast Georgia.

This is the first "non-working" "non-entertaining" weekend I've had at the new house and I'm beyond excited. We still don't have tv up there - which is an adjustment for me, since I'm the kind of person who has a tv on 24 hours a day - but we do have internet so I won't be completely cut off from the world. I'm packing Granddaddy Pennington's book to read, something I've been trying to do for about two months without success. I've also got tons and tons of archival stuff from Grandma's house to sort through. I'm sure I won't be bored.

I have a visit to the pain doctor this morning on my way up. The timing puts me driving through Atlanta at the end of rush hour but hopefully it won't be too terrible. I very much hate going to the pain doctor because it seems like I go... spend $100 or more... and nothing changes. It's sort of discouraging. However, although my pain never completely goes away, the meds that I'm on DO lessen the pain. So I jump through these hoops and check in every 2-3 months according to plan.

Today is also my dad's birthday! I think everyone is going out to eat tonight but... not me, because I'll be in the mountains. We thought about going out last night but mom and I were both beyond exhaustion so we decided to postpone it. Dad has been on a doctor ordered and monitored diet over the past month and has lost 26 pounds (I think, at last count). His birthday meal is going to be his splurge meal. Mama's birthday is next week. I'll splurge then!

The bad news is that Austin has been terminated from the work program. He missed three days last week due to being sick/dentist appointment and then left early on Friday so they dismissed him. It's a strict program, it has strict guidelines and ... to be honest with you... I think he lost interest once he had to start walking to the center to meet the bus to work. The first month they picked him up at his house but for the second month he had to demonstrate his ability to get there. Nobody where he lives has a car so he was having to walk. I hate it for him, I really do. I know it's a tough way to get started in life HOWEVER this is the path he chose for himself. He was welcome to come down here with me and do the program here, we could have provided transportation. For that matter, I feel certain that if he had utilized his contacts at church, he could have found someone to help him get where he needed to go.

If you want to do something bad enough, nothing will stop you.
If you don't want something, nothing will make you do it.

So he's back to the harsh world of being unemployed, living with people who are unemployed, not being able to pay his bills or have the basic necessities, other than food stamps. He says his friend "Fat Pat" has a job opportunity for him. We'll see. I called him last night to see if he needed me to take him to get his last check and cash it and he said he had it worked out. The last two weekends that I was up there I spent a fortune in gas running him around for things like shopping, getting his haircut, getting his laundry done, picking up his girlfriend, etc. If he doesn't need me this weekend, I'll be delighted. I want to help him but I also get a little frustrated with having to haul him around. It breaks my heart a little seeing him in need and not being able to be where I can help him.

I'll come back home on Sunday. It's a short trip, shorter than I would like, anyways, but I'm glad to have a three day weekend and glad to get up there for a bit. Hope you all have a great weekend!