Part 23 ~ The Adventures of King Ben & Zeus the Big Dumb Dog

If you missed the start of this series, you can find it here. A lot of things will be the same or very similar.

Another disturbance in the Force had me awake around 4:00AM this morning. It was only me and Sophie Cat in the bed, and the house was quiet. It was still dark, but I didn’t hear rain. I was hoping the storm, both storms, had passed.

When nature’s call became too strong to ignore, I got out of my warm bed and headed to the cold bathroom. As always, when I’m in the bathroom, someone else needs it. That someone else was Ben. And Zeus, of course.

We all met back in my room. Zeus had gone out and in and out and in and out and in. I guess he was afraid I was going to disappear if he stayed out too long. Big Dumb Dog! Diesel Cat decided to join the party too. There’s always room for one more when chaos is happening.

We all eventually got settled in my bed and things calmed down. A little bit. It was still dark outside, which meant it was too early for Ben’s meds, so the wiggle jiggle, elbows in my back would continue.

Daughter got up at some point and moved to the living room. All the boys stayed with me. Lucky me.

It was getting light outside, the sun was actually making an appearance. Yay! Sunshine! Daughter brought Ben’s meds, he took them and pulled the blankets over his head. I played around on my phone in between times of nodding off.

Around 8:30AM I made the effort to finally, really get up. Ben stayed in my bed with the blankets over his head. Since I was up, I decided to start laundry. Our washer and (broken) dryer are outside. They’re in a little alcove with roof, right outside my bedroom. Our house is cobbled together. I think the living room, kitchen, bathroom used to be a ‘Granny Flat’ and they added the 3 bedrooms later. Anyway, when Ben isn’t around, I go through my window to get to the washer. But since he’s home I have to walk around. My window is double hung, heavy and broken. I have nightmarish visions of the window coming down on his neck.

Blah, blah, blah…laundry started. I got back in the house, made my bed and was looking for my phone… OH, SHIT! Did I leave it in my hoodie pocket? I rushed back around to the washer and frantically searched. I found the hoodie, pulled it out…no phone. I dug through the wet, soapy clothes feeling around the bottom of the washer, but didn’t feel the phone.

Back in the house, Daughter was calling it, trying to find it. I looked around my room, the bathroom, the kitchen…nothing.  Daughter went out to the washer to check. Then I remembered that I had been in Ben’s room, looking for a toy of Zeus’s. I went into Ben’s room and there was my phone, half buried in his blankets. Thank goodness, crisis averted.

Except it was just beginning…

All the sudden running around and stressed out emotions got to Ben. Plus, when Daughter came back inside and saw him with her tablet, she snatched it away from him, telling him to quit touching her stuff. Ben reacted how Ben reacts.

I wasn’t able to get to my closet and the ‘magic stash’ before he came into my room and started knocking stuff over, screaming “You have to get dressed, you have to go to the store…” Oh, man! He had tears in his eyes, SOMETHING was bothering him. Ben rarely cries. I talked him down, or at least kept him from getting any further down ‘meltdown road’.

It was around 10:15 by this point, so Daughter got his meds ready and added an ibuprofen. Better to give him something for pain even if we’re not sure he has pain. An occasional ibuprofen won’t hurt him and may be just what’s needed. I got him to sit quietly on the couch and snuck to the stash and pulled out some PJ Masks action figures. That, in combination with his meds seemed to break the spiral. Whew! Crisis averted.

By 11:00AM he was watching his tablet and munching on Ritz crackers, sitting next to me on my bed.

He played in my room off and on until about 2:00. Then he wanted to go to the living room. I was just getting ready to take the laundry over to the dryer, so I went and got Daughter out of her room. I was a little concerned that Ben might get upset about me leaving and coming back without anything for him, but it turns out that only Zeus missed me.

Younger Daughter called to say she was coming by to pick up the masks that my friend, the Juice Angel had made and sent. She and Partner were going to brave the grocery store.

Utter chaos when she got to the house. Not from Ben, from Zeus. The barking and barking. She stopped and greeted him and pet him, but he was still barking when she tried to talk to me or Ben. Big Dumb Dog thinks he’s the center of the universe. Next time he does that, he’s going outside.

It was time for me to go get the clothes and Younger Daughter to go brave the stores. Before leaving this time, I reached into the “stash” and pulled out a box of chalk in a random grocery bag. I stuffed the bag down in amongst the other reusable bags for ‘just in case’.

I didn’t wear my mask at the laundromat, but I had it with me. California has made a rule that private businesses can refuse entry to people without masks. They are ‘strongly encouraging’ everyone to wear a non-medical face covering when out and about. It’s because a large percentage of people may have the virus but no symptoms.

Laundry done, folded and put away. Yay me!

For those who have become Sven Fans, he’s still hiding in his house. I was going to drag him out and put him in the shower, but it wasn’t as cold today and the washer running at the same time as the shower means the shower water temperature would fluctuate. He mostly sleeps. He did open his eyes and move his head a little, so I know he’s still alive. He might just be doing one of his periodic brumations. I’ll leave him alone for now. It’s always concerning when he does this, but it’s better to let him do what his body wants to do. I’ll keep you updated.

The sun is out and today, even with it’s ups and downs, has been a pretty good day. Let’s end on a positive note today.

No pictures, no songs, but Ben put his own straw in his ‘juice’ today. Those Capri Sun pouches can be difficult, more difficult than a ‘box’ of juice. So, Yay Ben! Another life skill learned.

Take care of yourselves, I care about you! Let me know if there’s any way I can help you through this very difficult, very real situation we’re dealing with. Virtual hugs to all and I’ll meet you here at Casa Cuckoo tomorrow.