January 15, 2003

Ketchup Collage

These past couple of weeks have been quite interesting even before the FOD downtime debacle. Things have been the same, yet somehow different. A little like I stepped over the line into a parallel existence. Its still me and everyone and everything around me is still the samebut its all different. If I were on medication, Id definitely do something about changing the dosage!

Daddy has a long time habit of walking in a nearby shopping mall every afternoon at precisely 4:30. He and his neighbor drive up there and walk the circuit. They have a group of mall friends other retired men who are there every day at about the same time. But one day something happened. I dont remember exactly what it was. Either his back hurt a lot, or the neighbor was too sick to go with him, or the mall was closed, or Mercury was retrograde somewhere or Daddy began to listen to the voices in his head Whatever the catalystthe routine has changed. NOW every day at 4:30, Daddy shows up at my house and we walk 1.5 miles around the neighborhood. Did you get that? WE. Me and Dad. Every day. Walking.

Not only do we WALK, but we TALK. Hows that for a revolutionary concept? Mostly Daddy talks and I listen. And NO, all you smarty-pants people, its NOT because hes in better shape than I am. I CAN SO walk and talk at the same time!!!! But he likes to talk. And he starts out with some event that happened during the day which usually somehow ends up with tales of things that happened during other times in his life. Many of the stories Ive heard before, but there are new gems popping up as well. And every day I see another little bitty piece of who this man is. Dont get me wrong Im not getting all sappy (cause I dont do sappy, remember?). I dont like everything I see, but I am beginning to understand so much more.

Sis has been living (and I use the word living loosely) here since January 1. She had borrowed some sort of combination waterbed and kitchen cabinet contraption to sleep in because she didnt like the combination futon/bunk bed I had in the room. The waterbed contraption would only have been comfortable for a midget weighing less than 40 pounds. Since Sis is 6 tall and just one of her legs probably weighs 40 pounds you draw the conclusion. Sis slept on it one night and got sick whereupon she moved to the couch in the sunroom. Its big. Its comfy. Its been occupied for 2 solid weeks.

The normal stresses of incorporating a new person into a household have been multiplied by 10,000 because of Sis illness. AND theres that little matter of me being home all day every day because I am unemployed. So what would normally be a few hours contact with each other is constant, never-ending, eyeball-to-eyeball connection. Fun? Oh yeah!

AND theres Chickie. She has this boyfriend, you see. And he is quite a bit older than she is. Because of this age difference, I have been watching this closely. They dont actually go anywhere alone together. Hes been here (he even upgraded and fixed my computer!) and has been quite polite and respectful. But Chickie, as fickle 15 year olds are wont to dodecided to pursue another love interest. (Four other love interests simultaneously, if Im not mistaken.) Well, the Oldie-but-goodie boyfriend isnt taking this well. He calls and whines. Last night he called ME. He didnt say anything overtly aggressive like.ohsay.. I cant live without her. or If I cant have her, nobody else can either but the tone of the conversation was a little desperate and it makes me worry. Is this guy stable? Well, OK. Thats a silly question. Nobody whos headoverheels in love is exactly stable. But is he able to control his baser impulses? And just what ARE those baser impulses? I mean an impulse to kick the tires of your car in anger is a whole lot less disturbing than an impulse to become a sniper. At least in my book. You guys may see it differently

Ive got the paperwork on the way to me to get started as a substitute teacher. Its SOMETHING to do that will bring in $, although its fairly small $. I dont know what else to do. I feel so burned by my last few job experiences. I dont know what I want to do. I dont know if I CAN actually DO anything. I feel like a dog thats been beaten I cringe a lot. Gawd Im whining!

Its the coldest day so far this year only going to get up to 69 degrees today! SoI think Ill go work in the yard. Penance for something I think. Or maybe just a way to escape Dad, Sis, Chickie and Me. Besides, Blossom likes to be outsideand this way I can keep an eye on the mystery spigot, the magical gate AND Blossom.

I think your Daddy’s Walk and Talks are wonderful. I wish my Daddy was close enough for a daily Walk and Talk, Florida and Arizona are awfully far apart. What did I miss, why is your sister living with you now?

lifeisuhmistury

January 16, 2003

Yeah, 69 degrees…that’s so NOT chilly! (14 degrees at my house today) Hey, while you’re doing your substitute teacher gig, I sure hope you continue to think about becoming the “Erma Bombeck” of OUR generation! Really! ***Beams you a big smile*** And yeah, the beach scenario sounds wonderful to me.I’m still working on the truning nckels into dimes deal, cookie jar is getting fuller every day!:)

I just realized while leaving that note what I like best about both Blurty and InTheWire…no word limits on notes or entries! ***Does a quick cartwheel!*** Gosh it’s nice to be able to get on this site again and be able to visit with friends again. (((((Gives you big hugs))))) I love you!

Your daily walks with Dad sound great. I can imagine the stress level with Sis and Chickie!! I think we all need a long kidfree vacation! ~hugs~

Talking, or listening, to the father unit, enduring the sickie sister and fending off potential sniper/psycho probably-soon-to-be-ex boyfriends of your young daughter. Quel fun. And only 69 degrees. You poor thing. *level stare, enjoying a balmy high of 18F* I’m going to go visit R now and raise my temperature. With a grin…T the U

Oh, my deepest sympathy on your cold weather–I don’t know how you can bear it. Break out the faux-fur muffs! How nice it is for you and Daddy to be doing all that walking and talking! Now, to re-stabilize Chickie’s sort-of boyfriend . . . Oh, don’t worry. He’s still a teenager, too, right? And he’s also MALE. Therefore, he’s going to be, you know, WEIRD.

What a nice idea for you and your dad to walk and talk. (listen) (as long as you can handle it *S*) You’re right to keep an eye on this boyfriend. The situation does not sound good to me. One never knows whats going on inside someone’s head. Especially an almost stranger.

Lael

Jumps up and down I’m snowed in I’m snowed in LOL I know sounds terrible doesn’t it I’m soooooo oh damm can’t pull it off LOL Lael

Daddy and daughter talks are always the bestest! I just wish I had that same sorta thing with my father. Even if he would talk…and I’d listen. Chances are good that’ll never happen, cuz I’m such a rambler! I went through my daughter dating a much older guy. It gave cause for me to worry more so than other previous guys…but, it always works out…if you keep a close check! ~Hugs~

Mns

hey, that’s kinda neat about dad and daughter walks/talks 🙂 glad to have FOD operational again, missed reading everybody. sounds like alotta things going on to cause stress but seems like you’re handling things quite well.. great entry!

hi , it’s nice to walk and talk AND hear the stories . maybe something will trigger a journey toward understanding , forgiving BUT never forgetting. it’s hard you guys ( pop &you ) are coming from such far and different places . i think tho , seriously it’s time for a LARGE piece of ” Death by Chocolate “. hugs for you AND do something nice for you , only you.

I think that the walking with your dad is a good thing. I’m sure that the boy will be fine, they all over react a bit at that age, I think it’s normal! LOL 🙂

aquaphoric

hmmm… sounds like an toy… “walk ‘n’ talk daddy doll… comes with everything you see here. Batteries not included. Some assembly required” As for sis “living” errr… dying? in your house… sounds like a pain in the pompis if you know what I mean 😉 and uhmm… rotfwl @ the tire/sniper comment… and err… was that everything? I think so… have a nice one.

RYN: awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! now what did I do/say to deserve a compliment like that? *blushes profusely* thanks though….

Luna

My Dad talks to me while I drive him to doctor appointments. My favorite story, most recently, contained the line, “I remember the semester I took 18 units. I was working full-time, going to school, my girlfriend got pregnant, my car was repossessed, and my apartment burned down.”I swear he said that. Made my whole pregnant-the-first-time-I-had-sex story seem kinda simple.

Oh, and we’ve had weather in the low 80s and high 70s lately. I know exactly what you mean about suffering. 🙂

(I’m verbose today.) We have plans to go suffer some more in the weather at Disneyland (again) this weekend. Oh, the joy of annual passes. 🙂

ermentrude

January 17, 2003

Maybe there’s a connection between your gate and the spiral gate in Glastobury. Just a thought! It’s so great you and your dad talk. I started talking with my dad properly after mum died and now i wish i’d got the chance to do it with her too. 🙂

That is great about you and Dad, I think too many people miss that stage of their parents lives. Sounds like a little stress at home but seems like you are dealing well. This too will pass, hang in there 🙂

Ainekate

You can walk & talk at the same time?! You are multi-talented, aren’t you? *hehehe* Enjoy those talks with your dad while they last. I think you’ll look back later on them with fond memories. … Only 69 degrees, you poor thing! Should I send down some blankets? You don’t want to know how friggin’ cold it is up here today. *with smiles & a big hug*

intersting.