Humor

I drove Trevor's friend home. Its an hour and fifteen minute drive one way. His mom and I kind of eyed each other until I volunteered to bring him home, that was when she said he could stay over night. We live just a bit too far away now we both admit. They are such good friends, the whole family. Trevor and his friend have known each other since preschool T ball at the YMCA.



I love that they make the effort to still call each other and angle for sleep overs whenever possible. I do what I can to keep their friendship alive.



I had a dear friend when I was little. When we moved away I tried to keep connected but over time we lost contact. When you don't see each other and have those common events to share it is hard to get together and have anything to talk about. Its awkward for me.



Trevor has no problem with this friend coming up with things to do or talk about. They both love mad libs. They will do the silly stories for hours, laughing hilariously. His parents are wonderful people and have great parenting values that I admire. I like those kinds of friends. Tom was disappointed they didn't come in to say hi. But often he is asleep in his chair recovering after a round of golf. He could have come outside to say hi if he had felt strongly enough. They had other things they wanted to squeeze into the day.



After dropping the boy at his home Trevor and I headed over to my sister's place. I had said I would mow her lawn again. No one had done it since the last time. She was coming home from the East coast service on a late flight. I wanted the exterior of the house to look welcoming. I also told Trevor he owed me for the sleep over and drive home. He didn't complain. He said he felt bad for Tory and wanted to help. That boy has a good heart. He belongs to the volunteer corps at school and does charitable works all year long.

We are headed south on I5. I want Trevor to remind me to stay on I5 when we come to our regular splinter. I have in the past automatically taken the other rout when I really wanted to stay on I5. Trevor's response was so funny. He says "I5, that's easy, Bingo."

"What?" I ask

"Bingo" He says again. "You know mom Bingo, I5."

I love the way that boy's mind works.


Today it was 85 degrees. The ground was hard and dry. Mostly weeds had been growing in this heat. At my sister's, the grass needed a trim, but it was not out of control from two weeks ago. No one had been watering it regularly so it hadn't grown much. I tried to do some weeding while Trevor mowed. It barely mad a dent. I will need to catch the weeds after a wet rainy day in the fall to get the roots. The lawn did look better two hours later when we were done. She has a lot of lawn and the self propulsion is broken on her lawn mower. It is also a big heavy machine. I burn my fingers on the side of the mower when, with Trevor's help we lift it from one level to

another. My fingers touch the hot part of the engine. My skin turns whit on two fingers and I know I have created blisters. We continue working but I put on gloves.



Trevor is thirsty so he goes inside and returns with a tall glass of water for me, without my asking. He is so thoughtful. I needed that water. After the mowing is done I throw in the towel on the weeds. I am sitting on the porch drinking that wonderful water sitting next to Trevor, he looks over and asks why I am crying. I say I am not, that is sweat dripping off my face and it was. I sweat really easily. 85 degrees is way too hot for doing yard work.



Tory has a friend house sitting for her. He was there at the house when we arrived. It was nice to see all the cars in the drive. Leaving your house empty during times like these is not smart. This friend was taking care of the cat and I think enjoying the air conditioning on this very hot day. He had also cleaned up a bit from all the visitors earlier. Tory has some very dear friends who have been wonderfully supportive.



Hopefully she will be happy with our work. Trevor and I are both pleased. We are done and head home. There are still a lot of weeds on the bank but we need to wait for the rain to tackle those. I ask Trevor what he wants for dinner as my thank you for helping. I had told him we would stop at a store for a drink, but now I am thinking bigger. I don't want to cook. Options are KFC, Chinese, or Panda Express. He wants Chinese and calls home to get either Tom or Riley to place the order while we drive. It would be ready for pick up by the time we got there. Neither Riley or Tom want Chinese or want to make the call. Since we don't have the number the fall back plan is KFC.



I order Trevor a kids meal with a milk shake and the rest of us get family meal with mashed potato and gravy and original recipe. There is a special, 7 thighs and legs for $10. That is all we like. No one in the family likes the breasts. So for us its a great deal. We even end up with left overs since Trevor had a kids meal. Riley only eats one leg.



Tom and I talk while we all watch TV. My sister in Law has been trading e mails with me over the cat issue. Tom and I agree again "no cat". It is nice to confirm that we are on the same page. He hadn't want to read the e mails in case there was something in them that would make him mad. I told him he was free to read them. I hadn't written anything he wouldn't approve, nor anything really instigating from his sister either. But it is always nice to know what to expect when opening his family's e mail. You have to love them.



I tell him his family wants to wait until the bitter end before moving. No one is coming to visit any time soon. They may not even end up here as things resolve themselves. All options are open. Now that that issue has been pushed out indefinitely, I have taken a breather. Doing the lawn has given me fresh energy. Exercise is invigorating.



Tom says I am like Bones on TV, I am good at compartmentalizing my life. Now I am just waiting to hear officially if I got the job and when my start date is. Long days, but I am looking forward to them, since it is only part time. After 14 years, its a good start. I think Tom is torn about my job. He wants to encourage me to go back to work, but then he is concerned about the boys. He also wishes it were something more distinctive than a shoe store. But again I think he is happy since it is a start for me working, finally.

Tom and I have always joked that we are scrappers. If push came to shove we would not be embarrassed to do any job. We would not be too prideful to flip burgers. A job is a job. It is important to provide financial support to the family with an honest wage. That was how Tom ended up on Vashon Island as a Project Manager for a sewage treatment plant before we ended up where we are now. He hated being away from home, but he did what he had to do to provide for the family.

My Meyers Briggs exam in high school said I should work in a Funeral Home or own a Boutique. I was strongly empathetic the test scores implied. I figure this shoe store will give me the exposure to small retail and the details needed for running a successful small business. The owner has successfully been in business for 57 years. He has a lot of knowledge to teach. I am excited at the opportunity. The store manager mentioned starting in September, which would work, but I would love to start sooner. We will see what they say when they call back. I am guessing at the end of the week. Tom keeps asking. I will call if I don't hear from them by Thursday. I sent a thank you letter and the formal application back in the mail on Friday. My references will need to be contacted, so I want to give them a few days.