Hooked

Sorry I didn't get around to blogging yesterday... because I KNOW y'all just don't know what to think without your usual daily dose of cat pictures and whining. People whining, not cat whining. Just to be clear. There is a reason... I'll get to that in a minute.

Yesterday started out with a trip to Walmart. Austin's phone charger quit working and because we ARE a technology dependent family, I understood what this meant to him. He was awake at 9am to make sure we could go to the store before my usual excuses kicked in: too hot, took a pain pill, don't feel like it, etc. So we went. There were a few other necessary items, things that make life bearable for us all such as fishing bait for my mom and cat litter for the cats to use and the dogs to eat. We had a really nice time browsing through Walmart. I like my kid. He's not on the Dean's List at some college or on any career path of any kind but he is kind, he is funny and he doesn't mind being seen in public with his mom.

After a delightful shopping trip we decided to treat ourselves to my first pumpkin spice latte of the fall and his first iced caramel macchiato in a few months. BLISS! I will confess (as I mentioned on facebook) that I have apparently been using my debit card too often. I had cash to pay for our drinks and instead of handing it to the nice lady... I attempted to swipe a $20 bill through the credit card machine. Yep. It's official. I'm kookookatchu!

Then, since I was driving Pop's Jetta (which is really mom's Jetta that Pop is driving because his Sonata has a lot of miles on it and he drives a lot of miles every day in his commute and in going back and forth to see Grandma and back and forth between the mountain house and Riverdale). BUT... last week he had to get the inspection on the Sonata so he left the Jetta with us. Now... my preference is my little Sentra which has been down in Riverdale since June. And I'm comfortable driving the Sonata but the JETTA... handles so well... it has a much better turn radius and it hurts less. Truly. Driving hurts. This is why I haven't gone back to switch out the Sonata for the Sentra. the motion of turning the steering wheel pinches things in my spine that make me want to cry. Anyways... SINCE I was driving the Jetta and it was below a 1/4 of a tank of gas, even though I knew that Pop was taking it back with him in less than 24 hours, I went ahead and put a little gas in it. Enough to get him to Riverdale, probably. I just don't like any vehicle to be below 1/4 of a tank because you just never know what kind of catastrophe could befall us and maybe... I don't know... maybe it's an asteroid and it destroys all gas stations... or a zombie apocalypse and it's not safe to stop for gas. I just feel better knowing there's gas in the car.

Later on that same day... I made a nice spaghetti dinner complete with these garlic yeast rolls that I bought at Walmart. My sauce was semi-homemade - I took a bottle of sauce and added stuff to it to make it better. It was a decent little dinner. I try. On Fridays Pop goes into work at dawn's crack and then after work he goes to Woodstock to see Grandma and then drives from Woodstock up here to the mountain house and for some reason... since Pop is coming... we always act like we're incapable of preparing a meal if he is around. Usually that means that he drives through Chickfila or Taco Bell on his weekly trip to Lowe's. I was proud to have dinner ready and for there to not be any immediate errand or necessary shopping trip. He and mom could go down to the dock and fish to their hearts' content.

And then my mom comes limping up the stairs from the bottom level.
She says, "where is the nearest Urgent Care place?"
I say, "it's in Gainesville but it's not in a place that you have ever been... it might be better just to go to the little hospital up here."  "WHY?"
Mom, "I have a fish hook stuck in my face."
I took a nano-second glance to verify that there was indeed something inpaling her cheek and from that point on couldn't look at her again. I have this really bad issue with getting dizzy (even passed out once) when I see something piercing skin.
So I asked, "how did it happen?"
Mom, "Pop did it"
Married for 47 and a half years. You can insert just about any joke you can think of along the lines of her already "being hooked".
So I asked, "where is Pop?"
And along about that time there came a commotion from the back porch. Pop carrying a large bass, looking for a bucket to put it in while he took Mama to the ER.
I'm looking back and forth between the two of them with ... "how did you hook mama AND a fish?"
Fishing with more than one line. After she got hooked, he had a bite on another line and... he brought that in before taking Mama to the hospital. Which makes me snicker every time I think about it. And kudos for me for putting gas in the car so he could go straight to the hospital, right?
Then we all become Laurel and Hardy. Mom's trying to get ice for her face. Pop's standing on the porch with this fish. The animals all want to eat the fish. A bucket is needed. I run (ok, limp, cuz even in a life or death situation, which this wasn't, running would jack my back beyond repair) .. I limp downstairs and find a bucket. There is much ado about where to go and how to get there and will the fish be ok and does mama need her pocketbook (yes, you need id)  and the dogs who are all glued to my mom 24/7 go into full on hound dog blues... moaning and hollering and running frantically around looking for Mawmaw, looking for the fish. We're all bumping into each other and tripping over animals. It was insane. That's why I didn't blog last night.

Anyways... it took about three hours at the local ER. They cut it out and gave her a tetanus shot and antibiotics. Just a tiny little hole. She'll live. Pop, on the other hand....???? No, it was something we laughed about then and will probably continue to laugh about it for years to come. You can't make this stuff up.

And so today, my Cody calls to see if I took a picture of Mawmaw with the hook in her face. I said, "oh gosh no... I couldn't look at her AT all!  And my dad interjects, "you should have seen it before we got the worm off". Let that image sink in... mom with hook in her cheek with a worm slapping up against her cheek.  ::SHUDDER::

But she is fine. She's a little more sympathetic toward the fish now, I think. Pop went back to Riverdale and she's got a whole week to enjoy the lake without worrying about getting hooked again.

By the time they got back home I was late taking my knock out meds so I never really got knocked out last night. I dozed from 11 to 1 and again from 6 to 8 but the rest of the time I was surfing ye olde net. Today the meds are right on time and I'm ready to crash and burn very soon.

If you are of the praying sort, would you please pray for mama's face to heal well with no infection or problem. And would you pray for my kid... he's confided in me that he is having a hard time with discouragement - not knowing what path to take in life. With his Aspergers he's is probably two or three years behind in maturity and it makes a difference. And he's lazy. And afraid of the whole job interview process. And I just know that he could be a blessing to somebody, somewhere. It's heavy on his mommy's heart right now. He is so far from where he should be but I am so grateful that we get to share this time of life with him. I want to help him as much as he'll let me ... even if that just means reminding him that I love him unconditionally.

And could you pray for me? I had another bought of really incapacitating pain this morning... it almost always HURTS in one area or another but lately I'm having a "double over and fight for breath" kind of pain in my left hip/lower abdomen which is sort of taking us full circle. When my pain first started they assumed it was a kidney stone. Nope... it all goes back to the degenerative stuff and nerves being plucked like a banjo by my narrowing spine. The thing is... I'm as sedentary as you can be and still have a pulse. I can't cut anything else out and I don't want to increase medication. I just want to not go down a slippery abyss into more and more pain. I'll deal with what I've got, just please don't give me more.

That's all. I have some cute kitty photos but I'll save them for tomorrow because Im zonked. Hope you're having a delightful weekend. Love and hugs, y'all.