Part 83 ~ 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.

Sunset was pretty, but with the dry heat and no clouds it wasn’t dramatic. Of course I took pictures anyway. First, the hills to the east

Then the northwestern sky

I got Bounced around 2:00 but a Miracle occurred… Ben got under the blankets and went back to sleep. Very sweet.

Not so sweet was the 4:30 “Gramma come living room.” I always try to make him change his mind and I always fail. So I stumbled out to the couch. Daughter must’ve heard me going to Ben’s room to get the tablet and charger, because she came out to the living room after I had everything set up and settled. She told Ben to go to her room and told me to go back to bed. No arguments from me. The AC was switched on, another hot one today

I got Bounced several more times just for fun and then starting at 7:00, several times to Write The Words. Daughter told Ben to let me sleep until 8:30 and told him to get his watch. (I heard this, my eyes were still glued closed) She told him “Eight three zero”. He came in and tried a couple more times but I stuck with the 8:30 plan.

Final Bounce 8:28. Ben can read a digital clock. He could count over 100 and recognize the numbers before he was four years old. I spent the next hour exclusively doing the Arts and Crafts Time. After that hour I needed a potty break.

I uncovered Sven and turned his lights on. One of the bulbs burnt out, but it was the heat bulb and we have a separate heat coil with no light for winter nights, so no biggie. His UV bulb was still working. He was in the Judgey Corner. He hadn’t moved and he hadn’t eaten. He’s doing the brumation thing, I know this, but I still worry.

On to the potty where I was interrupted by pounding on the door and unintelligible words. I hurried, I knew he wasn’t going to leave me alone. I explained to him before I took the break that I needed to use the bathroom and I’d be back to do more freakin words. I told him to wait for me. I guess five minutes is an eternity when you need to have words written and your peasant has inconvenient bodily functions to attend to. Back to Arts and Crafts Time.

Daughter brought his meds in at 10:30 and told me she was going to her room. Ben came up with more things for me to write. I did all the months and the days of the week. I wrote “with”, “and” and “By” a bunch of times. I tore little pieces of tape and had them ready for him to use. We finally ran out of the white flyers and now we’re using yellow ones.

My alarm went off for the noon half Adderall so I went to get it, but the med box wasn’t in the living room. I went to see if Daughter had it and she said she was watching the time. I told her I wasn’t accusing, just my alarm… I was gonna do it… all good, I backed away and went back to my room. She brought the med in a few minutes later.

Ben had asked me to go to the living room several times. I told him he needed to pick up his words, then we’d go. I guess he finally decided I wasn’t going to do it for him and picked them up. Off to the living room.

I made a fresh pot of coffee and the dang circuit breaker flipped. (Another reason I think this used to be a studio, the living room, bathroom and kitchen all on one circuit.) I went and got the key to the front door, went out to the breaker box and flipped it back on.

I had to get the TV and DVD player going immediately! Gotta have Hocus Pocus on repeat. Then I turned the coffee pot back on… priorities… then Sven’s light and heat. He had just come back from cuddle time with Daughter, and was very yellow.

I feed him and take care of him daily and she gets the adoring looks. How is that fair? I dont get to cuddle him as often because of Zeus, my shadow, my velcro dog… he’s responsible for the death of one Beardie already (he plays too rough and the Beardie was left out and unattended with knowledge that Zeus was around). We make sure it can’t happen again.

Ben had me writing words again. He didn’t want to do the chalk thang, he didn’t want to play with any of his other stuff. Just “Gramma! Look!” or “How ’bout this?” pointing at some names on his tablet.

Daughter came out with meds at 2:00 and said she was feeling guilty being in her room, so she was going to take over living room duty. Ben wasn’t ready for me to be done, so I sat on the floor and did a few more names. Then I went to my room. Ben followed a minute later with the tablet, pointing at names. I got the paper, pen and scissors back out and wrote the names. We got to the end of that movie and he left to the living room.

He came back in around 2:45 telling me to get dressed and go to the store. He was bored, and hot. I asked if he wanted to take a bath and play in the water. I asked if he wanted to play with his police cars. No, no, no… “You have to get dressed. You have to go to the store for new Sweeney Todd Barber Chair toy!” His heart wasn’t in it though. He was just saying the words.

He wandered outside. The heat coming in the open side door seriously felt like an open oven door. After about five minutes I went to see what he was doing. I found him sitting in the shade, just sitting there. He held his hands up for me to “help him up”, so I did. I asked if he wanted to go back inside where it was cooler? He said “Yeah. Too hot.” Yep! Too hot fer shur!

Back in my room again and writing words again. That didnt last long. I think even he was getting tired of it. He surfed some more on the tablet. Zeus was panting so hard the bed was shaking, but he wouldn’t go into the living room where the AC was blowing… neither would Ben. Daughter was the only one in the living room. Well, Daughter and Sven, who had moved to the Pouting Corner.

Ben went back to the living room and spread his words out. He asked me to write a bunch of “and”s, then asked for tape. He was putting the names together with the “and” in between. (Does that count as schoolwork?) He was back and forth several times with more writing requests, but mainly stayed in the living room. Good, it’s where the AC is and he needed to stay in the cool.

Daughter is cooking his “white chicken” and it’s getting to be that time. Time to start the evening routine headed toward bedtime. We’ll be pushing back the time a little but not too far. When school does start again, he’ll need to be up fairly early and we don’t want to rush in the morning. It’s never good to try to rush Ben, but especially not before school. It starts the day on a bad note. Segue to a good note or notes… here’s tonight’s song. Popped into my head during a comment chat with Gary.

Thanks for hanging out and watching me write words all day. Kind of boring to watch and kind of tedious and irritating to do. It was a hot day, but not a bad day. I hope you’ll come hang out with us at Casa Cuckoo tomorrow. The AC will be on and the coffee will be ready.

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HUGS!

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