01/19/2013

Woke up early this morning. I fell asleep on the sofa last night and woke up to the front door having been left open for the night by one of the boys or their friend Mark. Mark came over late last night, and I assumed he was staying the night, but I guess not, lol. It was a balmy 29 degrees when I checked the thermometer. Great alarm clock. So, I got up, made coffee, cleaned the living room and picked up some clutter in the kitchen, and now I’m back on the sofa under a crocheted blanket my grandmother gave me for a wedding gift thirty years ago and trying to get circulation back into frostbitten toes.

It’s been a quiet week for the most part. Even the silly note I got from the dreaded in-laws didn’t upset me. It was too ridiculous to get upset over. I was a little peeved at the local school district (see yesterdays’ entry for details) but that is done and done. Time to move on.

Yesterday was extremely busy, I left the house to take Brad to school about 7:30 a.m. and then over to my friend Jerry’s. He needed help getting lumber and supplies for a job and has no vehicle to carry it in.  By the time we finished, it was almost time to pick Brad up from school, so I stayed and helped him build a set of steps to the house he’s working on. Jerry and his wife Shelly have been our friends/family since grade school. They manage a mobile home park and Jerry has to do renovations. Bless his heart, he’s not very accomplished at such things, and doesn’t take suggestions well, so I’ve learned to assist how I can and let him do it his way. It’s usually a serviceable outcome if not exactly done correctly! He has a good heart, and that makes up for the hard head, lol!

It did get me thinking about the renovations I .want to do. We have a second home on our property, it’s an old two bedroom home on stilts. The in-laws who shall not be named (like Voldemort, if you say their name, they might show up!) made a mess of the place when I made them leave, tearing holes through the walls and in the roof and ceiling. As an added bonus, they ripped all the wiring out of the walls and sold the copper. It needed repair before that, they just added a bit to the repairs and expense. Cheryl and I had planned on renovating it and selling the mobile home we live in from the beginning, but after health issues struck her, it just never seemed to happen.

I’m developing a five year plan to get it in order now, and hoping that once I look at the structure I don’t have too much work to do there. I want to renovate the upstairs into a large bedroom and bath for myself, with one of the bedrooms as a study/home office. I’m getting close to having my book finished and the publisher thinks it may do well (yes, I know I’ve never mentioned it before, I don’t want to jinx it).

The downstairs will be enclosed and made into one large space which combines the kitchen, dining and living room. I am planning to add a half bath downstairs with a shower, and possibly one more small bedroom, in the hopes that the kids will come to visit often, lol. Honestly, I think all three boys will live within minutes of me, so extra rooms will be mainly for when I am able to coax grandchildren into staying with me for a night or two.

I also found out yesterday that Bradley is considering joining the Marines. I’m of two minds on that. I know that the military would be good as far as helping him to mature, he would be able to live on base and save money, good experience, veterans benefits, etc.

HOWEVER…..as crazy as he can make me, I don’t want him so far away for so long. Minimum commitment is four years, and that’s a long time for me. I know that is a completely selfish standpoint, but there it is.

The other thing is that my family doesn’t have a good track record with the military. Cases in point: Uncle Weldon went missing in 1943. His remains weren’t found until 1984. My nephew Courtney, joined the navy, and now a quadriplegic from a ship boar accident. Another nephew James got caught in a car bomb in Iraq, was sent home to recover. While getting ready to deploy, he was caught up in the famous Ft. Hood debacle, where the psychiatrist shot up most of his friends. James was one of four men in the room not actually shot, thank God. But then he was deployed to Afghanistan. His transport ran over a mine (I think they call them IED’s) while he was on the running board. He now has brain and nerve damage. He’s able to function, and his mental state is normal now, but he’ll never be 100 percent again, and he’s 27.

I know it’s superstitious, but it makes me nervous to think about one of my kids in that situation now. I know if he decides to do it I will support his decision and pretend to be thrilled, but I’ll be shaking inside for four years. Sure as the world, he would end up making it a career just to drive me insane, lol.

Well, it’s time for me to get up and wake the kids. We’re patching damage to our roof from the last wind storm and replacing a broken window. Ah, the joys of home ownership! Seriously, I enjoy the work, it makes me feel productive.

Before I go; a photo of my oldest son Brandon and his eldest son Reese. Reese gave us his first big smile for the photo, and it’s one of my favorites

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