What A Day!

Bandit telling me his side of this story

I had one of those...

OH MY GOSH! kind of days.

I could probably make this into six different post but I will try to reduce it into one.

I'm not even sure where to begin...

Might as well start with the beginning...

 I fell asleep around 3 am (problem sleeping whenever Hubby is out of town). I woke early to the sound of my cell phone  ringing at 4:39am. It was my youngest daughter (away at college).  Now, anyone with college children know the drill...

{WTH? the phone is ringing? OMGosh.. it's my daughter! what's wrong?}

but when I answered... silence... no voice, no sounds, nothing. It hangs up... I call her back and it goes to voice mail... I try again... and again... then I try texting... again... and again.

Somehow, I calmed myself, and actually feel back to sleep after much prayers!

At 7:22am I receive a text telling me, she thinks she must have "sleep called" me... strange child of mine. 

Made me think of my college roommate, Angela... and the MANY nights, she amused herself talking to me when I was asleep.  Apparently I was a chatty sleeper and you could get ALL kinds of honest information out of me when I was asleep. Quite entertaining so I am told.

Back to my day.. so relieved she was okay!

I "woke" up at 8:30am to start my day. (okay...hang on.. I am sure some of you are wondering, what the heck? 8:30? LAZY! But let me explain, I get off work at midnight, therefore I am entitled to a later morning).. So, I get up, have my cup of Joe, read some emails, fed the pets, take out the Dogs, and jump in the car to head to my 10am appointment with Betsy's.  If you are not a follower from way back, you may wonder who's Betsy.  She is my wonderful Angel ~ Therapist... that has taught me valuable coping skills and helps me to stay sane as well as keep things in check.

Great Session! whoa I love this Gal!  I'm on the right path & always feel fabulous after my Betsy hour.  See you in 6 weeks Betsy!

Now, I have just enough time to swing by Target before heading to my ASL classes, so in I pop.  They have WONDERFUL Dollar Deals, and to my pleasure the Dollar Easter Socks are in. So I pick up a couple dozen for my "Girls" to have (I am becoming, "that Dorm Supervisor that always gives out Holiday socks").  Which is fine, as you can never have too many socks & the girls get a kick out of them. 

I realize as I am in line to pay that I have to go pee really bad.  I am standing there doing my Kegals to keep myself together.  I think to myself, do I really want to go into that public restroom?

Naw...

I can hold it! At lest till I get to class.

OR NOT

As I am walking to my car in the parking lot I feel myself sprinkle as I take each step. I arrive to my car...with a big wet spot in my crotch.

OMG!

Did I really just pee myself?

Seriously?

Well, that is some serious... "Becoming an Oldie situation!"

So much for getting to class... I have no choice but to go home and clean up.

You'd think that would be enough...
NOPE!

lets move along to 1:00pm...

We live in a neighborhood that is picky about fences.  The type of fence I am allowed to place would cost us big bucks for the full back yard.  Not gonna happen. So, unfortunately, I am a Hillbilly that attaches my dogs leashes to a long tie down leash outside.  My Dogs LOVE being outside.  We hate having to keep them leashed but, well, Bandit is not real bright, and Riley gets very into scents (she is a Coon hound) and they will take off. We have been using this method for two years, as we debate buying the "Fence" or attempting the "Invisible Fences".
The Dogs were enjoying the sunshine, No barking, just relaxed and happy. They have managed to slip off the main leash a couple of times, but never venture past a neighbor house. Dakota, the little guy, does not require a leash. He stays put although he can be an instigator.
FIVE MINUTES...
I stepped inside for 5 minutes.
Then I checked on them. Dakota was a nervous Nelly, and Riley & Bandit were GONE.
I mean GONE.

I'm running around calling them. No barking, no howling.
I start to feel panicky.
I jump in the car and spin around the block.
Not a Pup in sight.
I drive around again adding the additional streets.

our neighborhood (we are "A")

Where the Heck did my Babies go?
OMG
I have asked every person I see in the neighborhood and NO ONE HAS SEEN THEM...
I exit the neighborhood and circle the exterior perimeter slightly terrified.
I start back into the neighborhood & receive a call. It's a Los Angeles number so I let it go to voice mail  (I'm a little busy).  Then I get another call, this one is from my Veterinarian. I answer...OMGosh..do you have our Dogs? Jenn (Vet Tech) says we have Riley... a Good Samaritan picked her up running down the middle of Brookville Road (very busy street with 55 speed limits).  Riley was with Bandit, who apparently was hit by a car...
He ran off though, she wasn't able to get him in her car, although big ole' Riley was tired of this adventure and more than happy to get her 110 pound butt in the nice lady's car.
Riley was taken to our Vet's Office, one of the Gals that work there headed out looking for my Bandit, as I also continued the search... I pulled off the side side of the road, where Bandit was last seen, calling & searching...but where did my Bandit go?
I get another call...
"Hi, I think I may have your Dog..."
OMGosh!
Is he okay? Where are you? I will come now!
Turns out, Bandit headed South after Riley got picked up.  Met another Dog and followed it home. The man that called, happened to have been a cilent of mine from my Real Estate days. He said Red, (the Dog that brought Bandit home) was a stray that he & his wife befriended & started feeding.  He came up the drive-way with Bandit. They found us through his tags.
I thanked him, loaded my very happy to see me but very exhausted Dog into the car & headed to the Vet.  Bandit has a couple of skinned spots on his leg, but other than than he is fine!  We picked up Riley who was very thrilled to see us.She started HOWLING as soon as she heard my voice.
I brought them home for a good long nap.

safely home

All this took place within one hour.
2:00pm

Off to work.
Now, work stuff I have to be careful what I am allowed to say. So I am gonna try to be brief but give you an idea of the craziness of the day.
3:00-3:15pm
Staff meeting... Grab vehicle keys & paperwork for off campus outing, open Dorm
3:15-3:45pm
Roll call, get Girls off to practices, take some to another Dorm and take one with me to get vehicle
3:55-5:45pm
At Med Check, for a Resident's Physical appointment, fill out a TON of paperwork, get parent on phone to talk to Med Check person, interrupt for my Girl, get HALF WAY FINISHED when they stop the check up & inform me they have made a serious mistake, and can not complete this.  She can not continue here due to out of network and an insurance issue (although, I have already paid out of pocket personally).  Without going into detail, I got reimbursed, and we left, two hours wasted.
6:00-6:30pm
Arby's with my disappointed Girl, talk about possibilities so we can get her IHSAA forms completed and get her playing her team sport. 
7:00-12:00am
Back to work, met with supervisor, take care of my 15 residental Girls, talk to three parents, dissolve some high school girl drama, meeting with supervisors & Dorm Counselor on an issue, tuck my Girls in, clean up Dorm, fill in Night Dorm Supervisor, and clock myself out.

12:30 - 2:30am
Get home, shower, chat with Hubby on phone, (he's in Detroit), grab a glass of wine & LOVE my Dogs.

As crazy as it was, I know it could have been a REALLY HORRIBLE Day.  So many things could have happened...
My Dogs! My precious spoiled Dogs could have been lost, hurt, or killed.
So I peed myself... probably not the last time and
my girlfriends and I have gotten quite a laugh over it.
Work craziness... I may not have gotten accomplished what I sat out to do, but I tried, and I did have a bonding experience with one of my Girls. She will survive and prehaps can get this issue resolved. It gets caotic but it also is wonderful. I love love love this job.  It brings me so much joy.

This all had a lot of value as well. I appreciate the good when I remember that things don't always go as planned. I have once again learned the value of laughing can help you through ANYTHING.
Life is good.

Lickity Split... not

LICKITY SPLIT: A description, of doing something in a fast time. I have picked up this little phrase as well as some other golden oldies, hanging with the retirees that volunteer with me at the Hospital. My conversations have been a tad different than my usual as well. When I was "Office Mom", at the last employment, I grew to favor this title and truly enjoyed the youth that surrounded me in that office. Although my "co-workers" are very diverse from the last employment, I am enjoying their company as well. I am finding it an adjustment to decrease my pace. I live up to the name, "Speedy Gonzalez", and attempting to slow it down a notch. My co-volunteers understand the concept of, slow & steady, much better than I. They have been around this block longer than I. Most everyone that I am working with have retired and yet not ready to stop working. These folks have dedicated their lives to work, and are not about to give it up in their golden years. Some are lonely, many just need to feel needed. I am amazed how much they work. Their paychecks? A meal ticket for a free lunch (up to $7.00) per day, a pin to wear on our nifty Volunteer Vest to show off after 500 hours, and so on. They are so dedicated. They awe me. It is very interesting to get a better insight on hospitals. Something I am getting a glimpse of sitting here watching and learning.  It is very much a community. We have several patients that come on a regular basis for dialysis and other outpatient treatments. Also, I am starting to see familiar faces in the Doctors, Nurses, Chaplains, and other employees here at the Hospital. Currently I work the Information Desk, escorting  patients helping them find their way to where to go, and to the parking lot when discharged. I run parking passes and cards, as well as flowers and balloons. I also pick up and drop off specimens to the laboratory. I recover wheel chairs that mysteriously never return to the wheel chair parking area. I am still waiting to get into training for the "Help Program". That is what I was originally assigned and what I was hoping to do. That or Hospice.  I am trying to be patient but always struggle with it. Working the Information Desk is not where I want to be. There are plenty of Volunteers here, and I do not feel as needed. They are lovely, and I enjoy them. But I want to be helpful in a different way.  I want to fill that void from visiting my Aunt when she was living in the nursing facility. Hopefully that will begin this week. Please do me one favor next time you are in the Hospital. Look around. Try to remember, not to call only with that complaint. Try to remember to be thankful. From that Doctor to the volunteer. It pleases them so to be told a simple, thank you. To often we get so busy we forget to do that. One of my co-volunteers worked as an LDR nurse in this hospital for 40 years before having to retire. After a couple of years "retired" she came back and is a volunteer. She has been for many years. She puts in long hours, never complains and doesn't make a dime doing this. Just a lunch pass.  She has touched thousands of lives. She is absolutely an angel. This Hospital is Blessed with many like her. I wonder how they would run without her help. I hope she is appreciated.

Slow & Steady...

Do you remember Aesop's fable of the Tortoise and the Hare? The little Tortoise ended up beating the Hare by going "slow and steady", while the Hare, was so full of himself, after all he was the fast Hare, while the Tortoise was, well, the slow Tortoise. The Hare goofed off, ran about, and sure enough, lose the race to the Tortoise that kept on task, slowly but surely winning.
Life can imitate this. How many times do we see it happen?

I chuckle every time I see this sign. Yep, it's a real speed sign. There are several around the Senior Community that my Aunt Nancy is living in.

It reminds me also of my Bestie Sheri's Mom. When we were young she told us, "Don't cross the street unless you are sure you have enough time to fall down & pick yourself back up!" I am 47 yrs old & I still think of this...every time I cross a street. And I work Downtown & cross streets (Busy ones) every day. I drive my co-workers crazy with it.

I know the speed sign is to remind us that we are in a neighborhood full of Oldies, and we really need to slow down and pay attention. The Oldies are everywhere here. But it also reminds me to do this with life in general. Slow down. Life is more enjoyable when we approach it slowly and steady, then trying to race through with too much on our plates to really appreciate what we have.

Pod People

"Who are you , and what did you do with my parents?"

I don't know these people that claim to be my parents. They are not the same people I use to know. They are not the people I grew up with. These people are different.

Do you remember the movie, "INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS"? This show freaking scared the crap out of me. Now I know why. My parents are replaced by Pod People.

My parents are not the same. They don't make sense. They are not using good judgement. They are not being rational. Where did my considerate parents go? When did rudness become acceptable? Where did their common senses go?

Don't blame old age! I know way too many Oldies! I am no Spring Chicken either! Just because you get old doesn't constitute jumping into quick rash decisions and playing Russian Roulette with your lives.

I miss the old parents. The ones that thought things out (at least a bit better than now anyway.) I want THEM back.

I don't understand. They are so crazy! Gambling with their futures. Not thinking about consequences.

I am so torn and sad. How do you handle a couple of Pod people?

Zhanis! You Putting on more Weight!

Quoted from my dear Mother -in-Law this weekend.

First of all; obviously this old woman doesn't realize how hard it was to gather my family and pretty much MAKE them go see her & Poppa Saturday. It certainly wasn't anyone other than me saying: "Come on, we need to go see them. Show the love. It's been a while. I know it would make them so happy!"

Second; we came to eat at the Assisted Living Retirement Center they are currently staying at. No one wanted to eat at 4:30 (why do oldies do that?), let along there. The food isn't an, uhm, favorite shall we say?

I said, "Thank you Momma, I see you are packing a few new pounds too, no wonder with the pound of butter they put into each meal." She laughed and said, "yes! I gain 10 pounds!"

Third; She has no idea how self-conscious I am of gaining this weight. Earlier Emily caught me measuring my fat body parts, and told me that no one does that. Nor do I look like I gained any weight. Yes, Her eyes rolled back when Momma, announced to the dining room crowd about my gaining weight.

My Father -In-Law laughing chimed in: "You weigh a good 140 pounds now, huh? 140? Am I right?" Shut up Poppa. He caught me slip in the weigh room on the way back to their apartment. I jumped on the massive scales. Poppa pipes up: 140? No? I said, "Old Man, watch it!" In which,he laughed.

Fourth; Hello? The home we are purchasing has two master bedrooms. May be a good idea to stay on my good side! My folks are rocking right now...

ps.. I do love my In-Laws dearly. I appreciate them, even when they are mean. I see where Sergio gets it....