Reasons To Not Love Monday

As I've mentioned many times, the days of the week pretty much look the same to me. Mondays used to be a real pain in the tukas because we had the whole week stretched out ahead and I never knew if I had enough resources (time, food, money, energy, patience) to last through the week. So I started blogging about the positives for that day/week to get myself in a more positive state of mind. Here lately, since I'm prematurely retired/disabled/a lady of leisure... Mondays can be as good (or sometimes as bad) as any other day. I'm not going negative on y'all but today, I have a few reasons to NOT love Monday this week.

1. It's hot. Fry an egg on the sidewalk hot. And I don't glisten any more... I sweat. I'm tired of having the breath sucked out of me every time I step outside. I'm ready for the temps to dip back down to a more tolerable level. I'll settle for anything below 90 at this point but really... I want to need to wear a sweatshirt. I want it to be cold. Or cool. The Summer can't end soon enough to suit me. BUT... we're at the end of the July... we're about 2/3 through...

2. I had a dr. appointment at 7:30 this morning. Why 7:30? I schedule everything as early as possible so that if it's a day where I'm in enough pain to need pain meds, I can get whatever I'm doing done and get back home and get things back under control. It wasn't a BAD visit... it was to my local primary care doctor, so - no long drive. I really love this doctor and his office is run well so no stress. He always gives good advice and is encouraging so it's uplifting usually (and it was today). I have lost weight without really trying. I'm down about ten pounds since my visit in April. My blood pressure wasn't perfect but it was decent for me considering the stress I've been under lately. My joint pain is getting worse but the change to the stronger muscle relaxer has helped with muscle spasms. I mean, things are ok and this visit was non-invasive and I didn't even have to have blood drawn. I did that last Friday. (post script to this medical stuff: I've started using a cane to get around. I'm not loving that I need it but I am glad that it helps take some of the strain off my back, especially when I'm getting up and down. It's purple. I need to name it to make it less offensive.)

3. Another reason to not love Monday... being Austin's chauffeur. Pop's been busy with church duties - last week he was in New Orleans on a mission trip and today he's at a funeral for a dear, sweet lady. My mom hardly ever/practically never drives so I've been driving Austin back and forth to work since last Sunday. Why doesn't Austin drive? Hmmm... he just never has gotten licensed. He has a learner's permit and has practiced some but he's not ready yet and I'm ok with driving him until he is ready, even though it can be a huge inconvenience. The drive is not a problem, it's the not being able to take meds until I'm done driving for the day that is the problem. Sitting in the courthouse all day for Austin's first hearing really messed things up in my spine. I haven't had a break from the pain since then, except when I'm sleeping. Going down South for Ollie's birthday party made it worse (although I'm so grateful that I didn't have to drive! That made a huge difference!) I can ease it a bit with meds and rest but I can't make it go away. So I'm right frustrated by the end of the day when it's time to pick him up. I almost feel like it's less safe to drive when I'm in pain than it is to drive when I'm on pain meds. But I won't drive on pain meds, I promise! Not loving the pain this Monday.

Oliver with his practically grown big cousins. 

4. Three words: Democratic National Convention. I'm a Fox News junkie. It's my "white noise" in the background all day long except when I'm intentionally watching something else. But I just can't look at Hillary and her smugness all day. I can't tolerate Debbie Wasserman but I am glad she finally managed to do something with her hair in the last photos I've seen of her. She was looking like me with a bad home perm from junior high, matted down. I'm not saying I'm on the Trump Train but I'm a Republican who believes strongly that eight years of Obama has left not just our country but the whole world in a mess. Hearing Democrats bragging on Obama... praising Hillary... all week long... I just can't do it. It would make me stabby.

5. Another week without our Cosy-girl. I had a pretty hard breakdown last week over her. I noticed that there was dust on her tea set. There should not be dust on her little toys in her Nana's house. In the house where her daddy lives. It just ripped me apart. Her mother is still determined that we are not worthy of unsupervised visitation. She offered to let us meet them at the Chinese restaurant in town last week but I just didn't think it was wise to do that. It's not as if Austin can have a reunion with the child who has been withheld from him for 32 days (and counting) in the middle of a restaurant at lunch time. It's insulting to him (and to me) that we can't have her - just her - come to our house to have some much needed bonding time to get reacquainted with her dad. If her mom is at the next table - or even across the restaurant - or here at our house - it puts Austin at a disadvantage. He doesn't trust the mother not to cause a scene and doesn't want a public screaming match with her. Nor do we want to make Cosette uncomfortable in any way. Anyways... last week I just broke down. It's too much to watch my child hurt on top of my own hurt. I have been taking care of babies since my younger brother was born when I was 7. I have held and cared for Cosette and been a consistent presence in her life from her first day of life. There is no reason that child couldn't be in my care for the ONE SINGLE HOUR we have asked to bring her to our house to visit with her without her mother. Just like I'm counting down the days of Summer, I'm counting down the days until our day in court where I hope and pray the judge sees the insanity in a father and his very competent family not being able to have even (let me say it again) THE ONE SINGLE HOUR we have asked to have Cosette in our home with us. We have mediation on August 2nd and a hearing on August 15th. So hopefully before too long we'll be able to dust off that tea set. But I'm pretty sure it won't be this week.

6. Speaking of Summer and things that just aren't right... I'm not loving this Monday because I am tired of seeing folks in their swimsuits. I don't know if it's because we're in a vacation spot... or if people think that going to town practically naked will keep them cool... but every time I'm picking Austin up from work there are always folks wandering in and out of the grocery store in their swimsuits... a lot of times without a cover-up. Am I getting old? I just can't imagine, even on vacation, going into a grocery store in a bathing suit. Yesterday there was a lady in a one piece that didn't fit her right, barely covering a body that nobody wanted to see, walking through the store barefoot in just her swimsuit. Another girl had on a t-shirt over her swimsuit but it didn't cover her rear... and the bottom half of her bottom was hanging out of her swimsuit bottoms. It's bad enough that I have to look at my own cellulite, I don't want to be unwillingly subjected to someone else's. And you can't unsee it. I close my eyes and I can still see it jiggling and wiggling all the way across the front of the store while I paid for my groceries.

7. Big Brother this season - not doing it for me. I just can't get excited about the folks in there this year. It's usually a great Summer diversion but this year... eh.

8. We still have to get through this week and next before the Summer Olympics start.

9. I'm LOVING the Netflix show Grace and Frankie (although I do still harbor bitterness toward Jane Fonda for her whole Hanoi Jane thing). Grace and Frankie is an amazing show. It's been a great escape for me this past week as I binge watched it BUT ... it's a reason to not love this Monday because I'm almost all the way through the second season and I don't know when they'll release more episodes. The second season just came out in May. ARGH! I'm going to have to find another compelling show that will keep me entertained because I'll be on Netflix all week. At least until Thursday. Maybe until the Summer Olympics. Or until the election is over.

10. Speaking of the election... I'm seriously close to having to take a Facebook break to escape it. Because I am an open-minded person who loves people of all races, religions and sexual orientation I have quite a diverse group of friends. I am so sick of people insulting one group or the other for their political standing. There is so much hypocrisy, so much hate, so much ugliness going on... I just can't stand it. And the only thing I hate more about folks insulting folks who vote differently from them is the folks who think they've been appointed hall monitor in Facebook who make posts telling other's they shouldn't criticize their posts. If I see one more post that starts, "if you don't like what I have to say, delete me"... because that's a mature way to resolve differences and to keep an open mind. I love a lot of people who vote differently from me. I try really hard not to be controversial on Facebook. I try less-hard on my blog because y'all come here on purpose and you've usually been warned. But on Facebook I think about the folks that I don't really know all that well that might get offended if I say something controversial and I think even harder about the ones I love a lot that might get offended... and I try to be true to myself without being confrontational. It's not so much political correctness on my part as it is avoiding conflict and you know, keeping the peace. Every ounce of decency and decorum left in my spirit is going toward not ending up in jail or the nut-house over my sweet baby granddaughter. I just don't have the energy to defend my political stance and my heart hurts too much over things happening here in my hometown for me to absorb the flaming arrows people want to throw over how people vote. I will vote in this election the same way I vote in every election, based on the principles that are important to me and if you don't like it/appreciate it/respect it then just don't TELL ME. And if I slip up and post something that does support my beliefs, I can promise you it's not done with the intention of hurting anyone's feelings because guess what? I respect everyone's right to vote as they please so please don't lecture me or try to change my mind. Old dog here - you're not getting any new tricks out of me.

I promise to love Monday again soon. It might take until the end of this hot, miserable Summer. Or maybe until the end of this election cycle. It's just not in me today. I will say that I'm very grateful to have been able to make it down south for my sweet Oliver's first birthday party on Saturday. I've sprinkled pictures of that day through here to offset the grumpiness of this post. There were a lot of people there and he received much love and attention. He loved the bounce house that was my gift to him (got a great deal on it). I hope he'll get a few years' use out of it. Italian lessons are going well... I'm nearing 5000 words and sort of starting to be able to put together simple sentences. Language learning is hard when you're past 40, folks. Again with the old dog/new tricks scenario. I'm proud of myself for working so hard at learning something... and grateful for the distraction. Anyways... me and Monday will work things out. I hope that in the meantime you found your own Reasons To Love Monday!

PS: There are lots more pictures from Oliver's birthday on my Facebook page!