First Morning Back. I think I can already see footprints on the walls. :(
Well…I thought that I could.
Apparently, at the risk of looking like giant slobs across the internets, as soon as my daughter caught wind of the soon-to-be-EXTREMELY-messy-tornado-blew-through-the-room posting I was about to publish, with pictures, she mysteriously and silently left the kitchen (where I was typing) and slipped off to completely and totally,clean up their bedroom! Including Mason’s side of the room. That’s devotion to an illusion.
So instead of pig sty pics, I have pics of the room, looking neat, but now with posters! And pictures and calendars and what-not, that they put back up. Because you remember, when you were 11 and 12, even after being gone for a week or two, you have to restore your cool as soon as possible. You don’t need clean clothes; that can wait. But you gotta have that “Dream Big” puppy poster and a picture of Jeff Gordon’s race car hanging over your head before you can go to sleep.
Still peaceful. Not too junked up. (Yet)
Stevie Side. She's going for the "photo wall" look this time. (Now she looks blurry--sorry 'bout that)
Mason Side. Has the usual: race car, autographed Loop Rock Girl, Illinois state map...
Hey! It looks like there might be something new here...
ReHung!
And done. Looks so nice doesn’t it? These would be BEFORE they were actually home:
Paeceful. Quiet. Sunshiny.
Stevie Side
Mason Side. (Sorry for the blurs.)
When last you heard from me, I was on my way to school…
…with high hopes for the rest of the evening. When suddenly…Tequila! (And that was TWO days ago.)
I did go to school. I got the “pre-heads-up” to the actual “heads-up” classes I have next week. Signed some paperwork. Got some questions answered. Payed for classes. Bought more books. Drove home excited as hell, but unaware of the complicated nature of what I am about to embark upon.
I have three books and a syllabus right now, and I have three more books to buy. Definitely the most I have needed so far. When I trained for EMT I was on an adrenaline rush for hours after every single class, for like 4-6 months. It was crazy. And I have that same crazy feeling just looking at these books. Two years and god knows how many hours are about to go into this program, but I am ready. I’m not sure my body can take the intensity. I had trouble sleeping before, but I guess that will just help me on the job! I talked so much on the phone to the BF just driving home from a pre-class class, that I, “low-battery-powered-off”, the cell phone. The damn thing drained out good. First time I talked to the cut-off. Even after I plugged it back in it wouldn’t turn on for a little while.
So I take a closer look at this new book. Calculating With Confidence. Drug calculations, measurements, math conversions…OMG, it looks hard. Drug labels, syringes, pills, liquids, fractions, decimals, cc. mL. mg. oz. You need: Aspirin gr 10 p.o. q4h p.r.n. for pain. You have: Drug label, that suddenly makes no sense whatsoever. And tell me how much, with how much diluent, time of day, route of administration, but don’t forget who you are giving it to, how much they weigh, what else they are taking; now mark it on the drawing, and don’t “F” it up because you could kill someone…. I’m paraphrasing…but that’s the idea. Once you take off the plastic shrink wrap, the front cover has a skull and crossbones on it. They don’t want you to see that until it’s too late. And you thought that the nurse handing you two Tylenol in the hospital after dinner didn’t require any skill. HA!
The amazing thing is, that in 2 months, that book is going to make perfect sense, and I’ll be calculating in my sleep (not literally), but for now…we better go to Pepe’s and think about the future.
So the guy that has been working there since he was a child, really, (I know, because we as a family, collectively have been going there for his whole life basically, I even remember a time when he was out in the parking lot trying to drive off in his older brothers car…he got in trouble for that…) anypepestoryway…this kid/adult now (Ricky? The name would not come to me, don’t judge, I’m approaching 40, but Mason and Stevie both agree, yes, on the name) made me a killer, and I mean KILLER margarita. I took 4 drinks and I was feeling the heat. By one third gone, I was TWO thirds gone. I wish I could say I was joking, because I was getting “altered” and fast. (My teeth were numb and I tried to walk out of the clear glass panel NEXT to the door, when I left the restaurant) I ate some chips and salsa and some shrimp cocktail on crackers and a tamale and a chili rellano but food was failing me fast, so I concentrated on finishing the medium margarita that, based on my morning calculations of how-long-it-takes-my-body-to-filter-out-the-alcohol (years of research have perfected this system) there must have been at least, 5 shots of tequila in my drink. I can say that with confidence because I was still slightly drunk at 7:30 in the morning. And I even tried to move the alcohol along with activity and oxygen before I fell into dreamy-drunky sleep the night before but sometimes you can’t keep a good buzz down, or up, or whatever. End of story.
I dragged myself up, took out the garbage, diluted my remaining blood level of tequila with coffee, and watched Regis & Kelly with Pat Tomasulo subbing for Regis (!!) I wrote it on the calendar! Busy schedule, yeah yeah, I’ll be working soon enough and you’ll miss these long, rambling posts. (More Pat Stuff)
The Pat Down. For your enjoyment. And since this is Chicago, we have 2 newspapers…here’s the Trib version. Ok, I think I’m done now.
Then I really pushed the limit with a five mile run. Five point one something something, to be exact. I ran the water bill to the Village Hall, which maps out at 5+ miles. MapMy Run.com. 30 minutes there. 34 minutes back. One hour, four minutes. I will take it. I ran on the sidewalks. Concrete, hard on the shins with lots of hills, (dang Park Forest doesn’t have a completely flat spot 10 steps in a row), and chock full of tripping hazards. Broken cement, uneven, crooked, weeds, rocks…I’m not sure what the village is doing all the time. It seems like they dig holes in random spots all around town just so there’s something for the kids to fall into. At any rate. I was done for the day. Kids got home about 3 ish and we ate ice cream and talked about all they did last week. Stevie made cupcakes! First time on her own and no crunchy ones from egg shells! (So far) So proud. Then dinner and a movie. (Burgers on the grill and Smokey and the Bandit from Netflix) unpack the bags, go to bed and poof! Here we are. Today.
I’m going to skip the run today, maybe go take a walk at the nature trail if I can get the kids out there. Mason has grass to finish and we are open. I have the pictures you have been waiting for…I didn’t forget, it’s just time and energy and getting them off the cell phone. I even have video! The kids wanted to play in the water, but we don’t have a pool. We have a hose. So they filled up larger, plastic, Tupperware bowls and put their faces in them or dumped them over their heads. They would swim in a wet sponge if they could. Then they played water-hose-jump-rope, which is actually pretty funny. So that’s coming too! And all that other stuff I said I had…Remember my theme: Everything is always two days ago!
Cupcakes!
Half with sprinkles, half without! Tasty!
CrazyBugs!
It all came together in the middle for a brief moment, captured forever in photographic evidence. Four kids and a Ladybug. And we were only half way done!
Crazy for the Lady's...
Yabba Dabba Doo!
Do have a seat here in Bedrock and relive the old memories.
“Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they’re a modern stone-age family.
From the town of Bedrock, it’s a place right out of history.”
And that’s it for me…I cannot remember the rest of the song and it’s too early for the research…if you know it, post it! Otherwise just hum the rest…
(Humming. For people who don’t know the rest of the words.) That line is from something too. Long day ahead…
I think BIG Bam-Bam and BIG Pebbles are appearing in this photo. Making modern computer-age history. Or time-traveling.
UPDATED PICTURES HERE!! Thanks for coming back!
I took a side shot! Cave drawings!
And the back! This bench is a really good one!
Day Quote
The best of men cannot suspend their fate:
The good die early, and the bad die late.
—Daniel Defoe
Cool Word of the Day!
Dialysis (noun)
Definition: Separation of smaller substances from larger molecules or crystalloid from colloidal particles in a solution by diffusion through semipermeable membranes.
just shy of pretty 