Still plotless
2005-06-10, 3:58 p.m.

Day 292 Still Plotless

Well, still haven�t left any literature strewn about. The window of opportunity may have temporarily closed too. C�s Dad (B) is coming back to us, having had his fill of staying with C�s brother W. Made it 3 whole weeks this time, a new worlds record.

B may actually have enjoyed his visit at W�s. I know there�s much more activity there during the day. At least W�s kids are still in school and arrive home relatively early, compared to all the working stiffs at my house. The activity is good for him. At least it offers the chance to stay busy. At our house, he has tended to hover, seemingly looking for something, anything, to do. We usually left him things to do like emptying the dishwasher, running some laundry, maybe poking around in the foundation plantings weeding or even mowing the lawn.

Truthfully, I worry about him and the lawnmower. I�ve only let him run it once, and I was around, tending to other projects, but at least keeping an eye on him. Our lawnmower has all the safety gizmo�s still functional, so you�d think it�d be impossible to get hurt, but B has developed a knack for pulling off the impossible. Sometimes his judgment is not so hot. Most times, his memory is horrible. His confidence has been reduced to a shambles, mostly because he seems to break or screw up everything he touches. The saddest part is that he was never like this. Between losing his wife (best mother-in-law in the world, we got along fantastic) and this Alzheimer�s, he�s just a shadow of his former self. Certainly there may have been some niggling little memory issues 3 or 4 years ago, but since M passed (2 years now), he�s really gotten worse.

We need to figure out what to do with him. He�s talked of buying a place up here, living here 6 � 7 months of the year and retreating to Florida during the worst of winter. That�s a start. I�m afraid we really need to talk him out of wintering in Florida though. While he�s been able to function on his own for the last two years, he is really turning into a hermit. His driving skills are also sketchy at best, and there�s always the threat he�ll forget where he�s going. He really needs to be living with someone, for the companionship and supervision. Unfortunately, I don�t think he�s ready to accept that yet, and I fear trying to talk him into it will just alienate him/us. The other side of that coin is if we do talk him into living up north permanently, it�s probably only temporary. By the next day he�ll likely have forgotten that he was convinced.

Oldest son arrived in Florida last night for a one week vacation with some of his friends. Just in time for the first tropical storm of the season. Poor kid. Old Arlene looks to be moving right on out though. Maybe by the end of the weekend they�ll get some decent weather. In a cruel twist, yesterday afternoon when Z called to let me know he arrived safe & sound, it was 75 and raining in Ft. Lauderdale. Up here, in the tundra it was sunny and 90. Well, till the thunderstorms came through. But it�s not often we get warmer than Florida. Especially by that large a margin.

Bug fixes at work yesterday went well. Now I have 2 versions ready to test next week. If they go ok it�s on to a new task. About time. Getting tired of wrestling the same old code around.

Time to go prepare for the weekend. Got to get my Mom�s spare room finished so she can get the house on the market. Should be able to finish this weekend without dedicating the entire weekend to it. I hope.

292 days down. Those little urges to smoke gave up. Staying smoke free wins. Again.

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