The Move and Life

I had jury duty on November 2. One of the most boring days of my life. I ended up on a panel but not going to jury. So the good news is that I am off the hook for three more years. And I got to read a book.

That day was followed by three days of training. As it turned out I have had the training before. Apparently it never got recorded so three more days....

Speaking of work it has been rough lately. We had voluntary retirements and my boss and one of my coworkers are retiring. There are many other retirements and also a few layoffs. Really need oil to rebound.  And I found out that a beloved coworker in Houston died last weekend. He apparently had been very sick with cancer but it was fast also. He spent the time with his wife and grown kids. I went on many of my international trips with him and he showed me all over and around Aberdeen several year ago. He is from the Aberdeen area. I will cherish his memory in a special place in my heart.

Sidney's swim coach moved the team to a different pool some time ago. It is a good 30 miles from the house, all the way across town. It's a really great pool but so far away. I have help on Tuesdays which is saving my bacon. But still I drive her 180 miles each week to swimming. We are managing though. I plan meals that we can warm up in the microwave and never fast food. The meals aren't always perfectly balanced but they are usually leftover home cooked stuff. Maybe we will be able to make it through the rest of the school year....

Sidney and I finally completed East Brae in legos. I did Brae Alpha some time ago and it was a lot easier. I had to restart East Brae several times but I think it is finally right.

I have also had some help getting the Ford running. I drover her to church this morning. It was nerve wracking as I have not driven her in several years (Kirk usually drove since he was stronger) and I haven't driven her ever with just Sidney and I. We had one stall at a stop sign but we got there an back fine. I think the stall was just her fit after not running for a year and half. The person who helped me gave a small but special part of life back to me.

I move Kirk on Friday. I had some help from guys at work and we used one of their trucks. He doesn't have much stuff but it was a puzzle to get it all into the truck to minimize scratches and the like. It was very hard to say goodbye to Rainbow House. I know the staff were fond of Kirk. And they took such good care of him.

After loading the truck, we headed off the the new place. We took a minor detour and saw a lot of San Antonio because there are 2 Beverly Drives with the same house number.  Started at the wrong one. But we got him to the new house, run by Mary Ann. It is a VA Foster Home and she has three men who live there. One had a stroke and the other is a double amputee having lost both legs. And then Kirk is the last resident. The friends who helped me move Kirk really liked Mary Ann and she has sent me several pictures and updates. He seems very content. Because he is at a VA Foster Home he will receive visiting doctors and nurses as well as can have bloodworm and shots at the house. Also there will be a social worker, dietician and Chaplain who visit. Mary Ann will take him to meet me at any specially appointments so he won't get lost anymore. And the VA will organize Day Care if they seems like it will be a good fit.

My Box Turtle

Sidney has been doing really good in school. Well until last week which seems to be a flop. All A's at the end of the last 6 weeks which means all A's thus far through the semester. Hopefully with the break over Thanksgiving she can get back on the right foot.

Move Update

I am sorry I have been so delinquent on the blog. I certainly have not been doing a good job with posts. I think of so many things to write and then life interferes.

I visited a VA Foster Home for Kirk on Friday. It is a smaller home with only room for three residents. There are two men there already. The first is a 65 year old veteran who had a stroke. The second is a 46 year old double amputee. The lady who runs the home will go visit Kirk this week and make a decision as to if he can live there. I am quickly running out of time as he has to be moved by November 29, a day that seemed so far away four months ago when we found out Rainbow House was closing. I feel like I didn't do a good job looking for options. If he moves to the VA Home, many things will hopefully get easier including appointments and even the move because the VA will move him.

Sidney is busy which means I am busy. She had a swim meet this weekend, all three days. At least this one was in town which made life's easier and it only ate about 6 hours of each day instead of 8 or 10.  I have shared a video and some pictures on Facebook. Sidney gets yelled at in the video and it's pretty funny. All the kids get their turn of getting yelled at..... And yet they all love Coach.

She has been swimming outside all summer and through October. Yes the water got really cold in October. She comes out blue or purple. Coach had been looking for a pool and found one but it is a good long ways away. We are going to try it. I have help on Tuesdays and we will see how it goes. The concerns I have are really how to keep us fed and get homework done without doing it late at night. This life is a juggling act. And I usually drop something.

I am not sure if I wrote that I managed to fix the grill and a toilet myself and I changed the smoke detector batteries and furnace filters. Small things I know but normal things. I also feed us real meals that I cook immediately four nights a week and reasonable (most of the time) left overs on the three super busy nights.

Sidney saves me so many times and she doesn't know it. I am still deep in sadness and grief and wondering if I am doing the right things and making the right choices. She wrote me a beautiful note on a really bad day. On anther day I was captivated by her reading me poetry and she was so engaged and beautiful. She is such a loving, talented, smart, sweet person. Still a wonderful blend of Kirk and I. I also think back on our amazing life of the invincible three. It didn't matter where we were or what we did or didn't have, we were happy. And I don't know what comes after that as two....

I'll let you know how the move develops. I pray I am making the right decision but I never know until it happens.