"I grabbed hold my old guitar, and Carter started up the car
We left with no goodbyes.
Didn't know where we was heading
just as long as we was getting
places afar
We were on our own and glad to have no home
We were flying free, that crazy man and me"
We left with no goodbyes.
Didn't know where we was heading
just as long as we was getting
places afar
We were on our own and glad to have no home
We were flying free, that crazy man and me"
From "Carters Song" by De Leopold
It has been a hectic, crazy overwhelming week here. I planned on writing all about it yesterday. I thought "I'll just get the kids off to school, fix a big cup of coffee and write" Sounds simple enough, right?.. but nothing could be further from the truth...
I woke up at my usual 5:30..hit the snooze button..5:40...hit the snooze button...5:50..You get the idea..So when 6:20 rolled around..I was a frantic half crazed woman in dire need of coffee..rousing my kids from bed with a "C'mon!! We're late!!" Rushing down the stairs in a flurry of confusion and caffeine withdrawal..only to be met by an ENORMOUS pile of dog poop.
The kind that you can't ignore and wait for your husband (the man who had to have the three dogs) to come clean it up. This was so gigantic and odoriferous, it took half a roll of paper towels and a lot of bleach to clean up.(I hadn't had coffee yet) In the mean time, Lily being in fine form, took my distraction and lack of caffeine, as her cue to antagonize everyone else-especially Sam. Now Sammy is not a morning person. He prefers to be left alone, to take his time waking up. There I am cleaning up the dog mess while at the same time "encouraging" the kids to get moving, while Lily is simultaneously singing at the top of her lungs and grabbing Sammy's feet (she was lying under the table -why? I don't know). Sammy, stomps off to the living room, furiously wiping tears from his eye saying "I'm fine! I'm not crying!!! Sigh...I try to sooth him without referring to the fact that he is indeed crying, when I hear an "oops!" from Lily...she had knocked over her cereal bowl..off the table and onto the carpet-that I can't clean because my vacuum cleaner is broken. (I can't figure out why I haven't found the time to fix it) I somehow manage to get the cereal cleaned up, kids in sweaters, backpacks packed and everyone on the bus.(without coffee) As I am waving goodbye, I happen to look down at Zoe who is standing in the doorway also waving, only she is stark naked. Crap. 7:30- I now have one hour in which to clean up the dishes, make the beds, get myself (and Zoe) dressed before the electrician shows up at 8:30. I have a doctors appointment at 11:00..so I should have plenty of time. Right. 8:30 rolls around...no electrician...9:00...nope..I call Omar..he calls the electrician. The electrician calls me at 9:30, he is going to be late. REALLY????, I reply..he doesn't get my subtle humor. 10:30 rolls around-still no electrician..I call Omar.."I have to leave!!!" He says he will cancel the electrician for the day...and for me to just go. Just go? On any other day that would be easy. Today however, there is sewer work being done in my town...so there are detours..lots of them. Thus the fifteen mile trip to the doctor turned into a 45 mile excursion....I am late but thankfully, that is o.k....the doctor can still see me. I am starting to think that maybe the day is turning around..I have had coffee, got to my appointment..It is going to be smooth sailing..Until Zoe decided that she liked the doctors waiting room...liked it so much that she threw a hissy fit when it was time to leave. I had no choice but to carry a screaming squirming child ..past the annoyed looks of other patients...out through the building and across the vast parking lot and into the van. (at least she was dressed!) Another 45 miles later-we finally got home. Where lo and behold, I found the electrician waiting for me! HA! HA! or so I thought...I told him to please wait while I opened the side door for him- To please not open the front door, as this would let the dogs out. Can you guess what he did? That's right. He opened the front door-releasing the hounds (so to speak) Who of course headed towards the sewer work and the very busy road. Back into the van I went (Zoe was still in the van-as she threw yet another fit refusing to get out when she saw that the electrician was a man, and she "DOESN'T LIKE BOYS") -Back along the detour I drove..flashers on, yelling at the dogs to get in. I felt like a deranged kidnapper, all I needed was some candy and a raincoat. Eventually, after what felt like hours, I caught up with them. I got (dragged) them into the van and back to the house. I was home free!..yeah. As I opened the door to let them in, I was greeted by an ominous presence..a whiff of foreboding..I was consumed by a sense of dread..right there, on the center of the floor...mocking me with its very presence, was a huge pile of dog poop. sigh... I just didn't have it in me to blog anymore.
The kind that you can't ignore and wait for your husband (the man who had to have the three dogs) to come clean it up. This was so gigantic and odoriferous, it took half a roll of paper towels and a lot of bleach to clean up.(I hadn't had coffee yet) In the mean time, Lily being in fine form, took my distraction and lack of caffeine, as her cue to antagonize everyone else-especially Sam. Now Sammy is not a morning person. He prefers to be left alone, to take his time waking up. There I am cleaning up the dog mess while at the same time "encouraging" the kids to get moving, while Lily is simultaneously singing at the top of her lungs and grabbing Sammy's feet (she was lying under the table -why? I don't know). Sammy, stomps off to the living room, furiously wiping tears from his eye saying "I'm fine! I'm not crying!!! Sigh...I try to sooth him without referring to the fact that he is indeed crying, when I hear an "oops!" from Lily...she had knocked over her cereal bowl..off the table and onto the carpet-that I can't clean because my vacuum cleaner is broken. (I can't figure out why I haven't found the time to fix it) I somehow manage to get the cereal cleaned up, kids in sweaters, backpacks packed and everyone on the bus.(without coffee) As I am waving goodbye, I happen to look down at Zoe who is standing in the doorway also waving, only she is stark naked. Crap. 7:30- I now have one hour in which to clean up the dishes, make the beds, get myself (and Zoe) dressed before the electrician shows up at 8:30. I have a doctors appointment at 11:00..so I should have plenty of time. Right. 8:30 rolls around...no electrician...9:00...nope..I call Omar..he calls the electrician. The electrician calls me at 9:30, he is going to be late. REALLY????, I reply..he doesn't get my subtle humor. 10:30 rolls around-still no electrician..I call Omar.."I have to leave!!!" He says he will cancel the electrician for the day...and for me to just go. Just go? On any other day that would be easy. Today however, there is sewer work being done in my town...so there are detours..lots of them. Thus the fifteen mile trip to the doctor turned into a 45 mile excursion....I am late but thankfully, that is o.k....the doctor can still see me. I am starting to think that maybe the day is turning around..I have had coffee, got to my appointment..It is going to be smooth sailing..Until Zoe decided that she liked the doctors waiting room...liked it so much that she threw a hissy fit when it was time to leave. I had no choice but to carry a screaming squirming child ..past the annoyed looks of other patients...out through the building and across the vast parking lot and into the van. (at least she was dressed!) Another 45 miles later-we finally got home. Where lo and behold, I found the electrician waiting for me! HA! HA! or so I thought...I told him to please wait while I opened the side door for him- To please not open the front door, as this would let the dogs out. Can you guess what he did? That's right. He opened the front door-releasing the hounds (so to speak) Who of course headed towards the sewer work and the very busy road. Back into the van I went (Zoe was still in the van-as she threw yet another fit refusing to get out when she saw that the electrician was a man, and she "DOESN'T LIKE BOYS") -Back along the detour I drove..flashers on, yelling at the dogs to get in. I felt like a deranged kidnapper, all I needed was some candy and a raincoat. Eventually, after what felt like hours, I caught up with them. I got (dragged) them into the van and back to the house. I was home free!..yeah. As I opened the door to let them in, I was greeted by an ominous presence..a whiff of foreboding..I was consumed by a sense of dread..right there, on the center of the floor...mocking me with its very presence, was a huge pile of dog poop. sigh... I just didn't have it in me to blog anymore.
I had intended to write all about Sammy. How he had just turned eleven last week, and of my sister (eleven years my senior) who died a few days later. I wanted to talk about how Sammy lives on the autism spectrum and how my sister died from cancer....about those parents of autistic children who claim that they would prefer that their kids had cancer. How very wrong and misguided I thought that they were. But instead, I wound up writing the above.
I had wanted to honor them. Sammy, for the young man he is becoming-loving, joyful-a gentle soul...and my sister-one of the most difficult, yet brilliantly talented, wickedly funny people that I have known. I wish them both peace and light. and absolutely no dog poop.
