Walk it Off

 My wonderful son is EIGHTEEN, despite my efforts to keep him tiny and cherished. I can remember him chasing cats around the kitchen in his walker, and changing his diapers, and holding him when he was scared.  We had such wonderful conversations when I drove him to and from school with him securely strapped into a car seat.  We would talk about God and the whole world.  Now he actually drives himself to school while I say a silent prayer that he gets there safely.  

When I was that age, I didn't see myself as an adult.  I moved into my college dorm without a care in the world, thinking that college was just high school, part two.  Mom and Dad were there to take care of any emergencies that popped up. The first time I ever got sick while in college, I called my Dad. Any time I got sick, I talked to my dad, because he would say, "Meh, it's nothing, walk it off," and I knew that I would survive.  Except that is not what my Dad said this time.  

"What do you want me to do about it?  I'm a few thousand miles away." 

And I remember thinking a bad word, because Dad, in his infinite wisdom, was right.  That did not solve my dilemma, however. My stomach really hurt, and not in the way a stomachache has you laying on the couch sipping Sprite and eating crackers while watching soap operas.  This was actual pain, knives poking into my gut repeatedly. Never happened to me before, so I freaked, of course.

My anxiety immediately went to the conclusion that I was going to die.  

I eventually realized that there was a clinic on campus, and I walked there, slowly, in the dark. I saw a person at the clinic that may have been a doctor, but maybe not.  This person looked at my pale, tearstained face, listened to my tale of woe, gave me a prescription for what was probably Prilosec, and sent me home.  No emergency room visit.  I was fine the next day.   I probably could have just walked it off, but I was eighteen.  

So now my boy has been having stomach issues, but I am right here to share the wisdom of my Dad, and the OTC Prilosec.  And my son did indeed go walking, and his stomach stopped hurting.  There's a lesson in there somewhere, maybe about problem solving or pausing for a breath before freaking out.  I'll let my child figure it out.

Walk it off.  

Well, this has been a year

 Wow, I blinked and it's JUNE.  

I still want to punch most of the Trump administration.  However, in my efforts to become a better human, I've started praying for those idiots.  I cannot think of people more in need of mercy, and that's what followers of Christ are supposed to do, be merciful.  It has been a tumultuous journey, with many rants to myself in my office at work.  It doesn't say that you have to love your neighbor but only if they are white and agree with you.  It just says that you're supposed to love your neighbor, and it's implied that that means everyone.  So I am making an attempt at being a better person.  They don't have AA for this sort of thing, but they should.

My dad still has dementia, but he's past the "make random comments at pretty girls" and the "wander off and fall asleep on the neighbors' bench" phase.  He doesn't move much at all from his spot on the couch.  He sleeps.  He is still a firm "no" on moving into a nursing home, and according to my mother, Dad is able to get himself up and to the bathroom, dress himself, and feed himself. He knows that he drinks an Ensure every morning with his coffee. He only wants to eat sweets, but his blood sugar is good.  Let him eat whatever he wants, I say.  I kind of envy him that.  When I visit, my dad calls me "Angel" and "Beautiful" so many times, and then I ask him who I am.  He has to think about it for a minute, but so far he knows that I am his daughter and he can say my name.   

And my son graduated from high school.  The valedictorian played a prank on us, sending us a QR code which was that Rick Astley video.  Yes, she rickrolled us.  What has been interesting to me is how many people do not know what that means!  I don't know how we can have any sort of culture war if nobody knows our culture. Everyone should know who Lawrence Welk and Milton Berle were, if only so you get the references, and the jokes. Anyway, now I have this man-boy in my house with nothing to do until college starts. It's weird. I have asked him about getting a job, but he just cleans the house and fixes us dinner. Like I said, weird.

And yes, this is NOT AI. This is an actual person writing this! Very neurodivergent!

Books That I've Been Reading From the TV

I will admit that I do not like to read books that have anything to do with my job.  I also do not like to watch television shows or movies about schools.  As far as I am concerned, I am off the clock, and I'll think about work when I am back.  I suppose it is the equivalent of a doctor reading a novel about doctors.  I don't imagine surgeons reading about other surgeon's surgeries as written by Michael Crichton.  One needs a break and I will not apologize for it. I read and enjoy my forays in to other worlds that are not school-related, and everyone is much happier for it.

So I like to read silly books, supernatural cooks, mystery books, and even books about The Gray Man, a mercenary who saves the world and gets paid very well to do so.  I first became aware of Mark Greaney when his novel became a movie on Netflix or Amazon, and then I found out there were a series of books. Heaven!  I love series, because then I get to spend extra time with the characters I love and hate.  I read the first book of a Game of Thrones and was so angry I actually threw the book down and did not pick it up again until my husband mentioned it.  I am also reading books from Department Q, which was a Netflix show that my husband and I watched all of the episodes in two days. When old folks are willing to sit for long periods of time and deal with stiff bones and popping joints, it must be a good show.  And if you enjoy mysteries with a comedic vibe, you will adore Carl, the main character.  

I've enjoyed all of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, by J.R. Ward.  The Anita Blake series has also been distracting, although I wish that she talked about guns less.  It's not the guns, its the pages and pages of guns and knives, etc., but the main character is admirable and I like her tough approach to her world, which involves raising the dead.  Charlaine Harris had had a few books that were interesting as ell, like the True Blood series.

So a good mix of fun and mystery to calm me down at the end of the day and let me have a little fun while I unwind.  There is nothing wrong with that.  When need to stop being Judgy McJudgerson when I comes to books, and just let others read what they want.  Let us be.  Banning books is stupid, and it makes the person who is told to pull the books look like a complete butt.  On the other hand, it feels good these days, to be a little subversice/