It's now 6 days since my arrival on Terra Americana, and either I've got a whopper of a case of jet lag, or I'm just tired because I'm sleeping so poorly. So if this post comes off as a bunch of rambling drivel, hopefully you'll be willing to overlook it.
My mother came home two days after I arrived, and if I'm fatigued, she's even more so and thoroughly entitled to be tired after all she's been through. It will take her a long time to get the bounce back in her step, I think, but she's slowly improving.
The day after I got here, I discovered that Mom's fridge was on the blink, and all the food in the freezer had defrosted. After a couple of phone calls and some begging, I got a repair guy to come out at the end of that day, and $250 later it was fixed. I had to rush out the next morning and do the food shopping I'd wanted to do the day before, and then go pick my mom up to bring her home. Thankfully my sister had cleaned my mom's house before I came, so I didn't have to do THAT, but the bacterial infection my mother is still fighting means a lot of extra ongoing cleaning, especially in the bathroom and kitchen, and that's really for MY protection, not hers. The company that makes Clorox should be quite profitable this quarter thanks to all the additional cleaning products we're buying this month, so you might want to pick up a few shares of their stock.
As I feel more secure now that my mom is getting a little stronger and steadier on her feet, today I took a couple of hours to make my usual pilgrimage to Target... but I have to say, I was disappointed in the local store in our town. Their plus-size clothing department is nearly non-existent (it's never been that great), although maybe it's just THIS store that skimps on the square footage for us zoftig girls, because in the past I used to do pretty well finding clothing at Target, but now they're worse than Wal-Mart. Plus, I was trying to find a new comforter and sheets, and their bedding department was complete crap whereas I used to love it. I couldn't find any good books, and the only DVD I picked up was a copy of Dirty Dancing because Georges has NEVER SEEN IT (how is that possible?) and I decided he really should see it. So all in all, I wasn't as happy with my Target experience today. I may have to check out a different store before I can judge if it's an across-the-board lowering of standards or not.
Tired and stressed as I have been this week, I am feeling good about being here to help my mom and to give my sister some time to get back to her own life; my niece is now settled in up at U Mass and is off to a good start, but I'm sure my sister is having a tough time with her youngest now leaving the nest, and the oldest getting ready to do his Airborne training. Having your kid jumping out of airplanes is not something about which a mother can really rest easy.
Mostly, in my spare time I am channel surfing for HGTV-type shows and avoiding reality TV (now there's a "Jerseylicious" show in addition to "Jersey Shore" and "Real Housewives of New Jersey"? What is the fixation with mocking the Jersey girls all of a sudden, yo?
And now, I will attempt to get my first decent night's sleep in a week. I am not optimistic.
