Because it really is personal…

well, almost all. The coffee hasn’t finished perking yet and I HATE waiting for my coffee. What is this anyway- this getting up at 5 am? Ridiculous! OK, today I understand, because I went to bed early last night. Notsomuch yesterday, tho. Oh well, here I am. Terry is snoozing still, CJ is asleep, the dogs are asleep, even the peepers on the pond are still quiet. The only noise right now is that chugging noise the percolator makes. And it’s chugging too slow.

Alright, yesterdays post was a Pity Party. Heres what my parents would say whenever I was feeling sorry for myself as a kid (chant it):”Lets have a pity-party-one-two-three-AWWWWWWW.” I am fine now,coming to terms with our decision about CJ. I still feel (note: I said FEEL, and we all know how dependable feelings are) pretty much like a lousy parent and a lousy wife, but the sting of it all has lessened and how it’s just an itch under my skin. A little philosophical hydrocortisone cream (Thanks, Jerseychick) helps, and soon the swelling will go down and I’ll look normal again. Some things just have to be gotten over in due time. Thank you all for your concern, I’ll be fine.

Today, Terry has an appointment with the orthopedist who did the surgery on his arm. Poor man (Terry, not the orthopedist. I have a feeling he’s doing well for himself, and as a Libertarian I don’t have a problem with that), his arm is still hurting a good bit. He still has a hard time finding a comfortable position to sleep in, work is still trying to kick his ass when he’s down. BAD El Presidente! BAD Jack! They tried to take advantage of Terry being gone and have a meeting with Terry’s people to change policy and mess with Terry’s very functional system on key things. Terrys’ head person at Plant 2 called Terry and told him of this, so Terry showed up unannounced. He was never given the professional courtesy of being informed that all this was going to happen, and along with his arm hurting he was PISSED. HA! Terry said it worked, that El Presidente backpedalled and Jack blanched and never said a word the whole meeting. (Jack: a possum in human form, subversive and nasty, constantly trolling for weak spots in other people to manipulate and …what’s the word…exploit. Too bad for him Terry has Friends in Low Places)

The coffee pot has quit chugging. BeRightBack.

There, coffee. Much better. It’s still quiet. It has been deliciously cool the past day or so here. I mean, it got up to a blazing 80 yeasterday. How strange is that for one used to 95+ mid July? Perhaps that is contributing to the improvement in my state of mine. Another thing that helps is Attila the Mom at Cheaper Than Therapy and her…erm…Adventures With Big Kid. It’s not so much perspective (as in “whew, her kid is WAY worse than mine”, because he’s not) as it is comfort in numbers, knowing that here’s another Mom doing her level best to do what’s right by her child, and she still gets kicked in the teeth, and still retains her sense of humor. Thanks, Attila. I know you’re ‘just a virtual friend’, but you’re a comfort to me the way Erma Bombeck is.

It’s funny. I’m thinking CJ has realized he’s crossed some sort of line with me. I have always been his advocate, his sucker, I suppose. But when I realized he has no respect for me, or for Terry, something just left. I don’t really like him anymore. Love him, yes. Want what’s best for him, sure. That’s why he’s going to live with his uncle instead of simply being kicked out. But as for the other stuff we did, the sitting around and talking about his girlfriends, the going to lunch at Southern Palace just for fun, all that, it’s over with. Those are things I do with the people I like, and I don’t like him anymore. Maybe one day the like will return. It did with Will. I think right now we need some distance, and I am more than happy to provide it.

Good news re: School for CJ! I wrote the school system where he’s going, the assistant superintendant to be precise, expecting a return email in a week or so with vague information designed to confuse. What I got was a reply 2 hours later, with attached sign-up forms and all the stuff he’d need to enroll. I got specifics on getting him into the alternative school, and an offer to meet with CJ and me directly to determine if he’s a candidate for the AS. I got reassurances that they’d make this as painless as possible. I was told that since he’d be 18, I didn’t have to have guardianship transferred to The Navy Dude, only that he (TND) would have to show proof of residency. How cool is that! I wrote him back, told him he was a prince, and thanked him profusely for his help.

So. Gradually I am climbing out of this grey pit I’ve been in. I knew I would, I always do. I even did it this time without the help of The Demon Rum. Mainly because we are out of rum and having to watch the budget ‘cuz of the trip. Whatever.