If you missed the start of this series, you can find it here. A lot of things will be the same or very similar.
Daughter overcooked Ben’s pizza last night so it didn’t look right and he wouldn’t eat it. Then he started going off a little around 6:00. Meds were due at 6:15-6:20 so I worked on distractions and ran his bath. We saved it from going bad at the end although Daughter was grumpy and that wasn’t helpful.
Ben and Zeus were tucked in and I relaxed and waited for sunset. It was overcast most of yesterday but the clouds started burning off in the afternoon. I thought there’d still be some clouds for sunset. Yeah… like five clouds. It was pretty anyway.
I planned on trying to go to sleep earlier than usual. Murphy or the universe or Dumb Luck loves when we make plans. I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight and I took my pill before 10:00.
I got Bounced this morning around 4:30. He was very much awake and very wiggly jiggly. I got elbows in the ribs, pushed toward the edge of my bed, blankets stolen and bedquakes galore. Basically a normal morning. He wanted his water bottle. I told him to get it. Can you guess what he said? “I need help.” Rather than get up, I just handed mine over.
When Nature’s Call became an urgent matter, I had to get up. I went looking for his water bottle after my pit stop. I couldn’t find it anywhere. So bizarre! I brought him the smaller Hello Kitty one. He drained it pretty quickly and wanted a refill. Ugh! I got up and he followed. Time for relocation. It was 6:15 by then and meds were due soon. I refilled his water and went on a more thorough search for the newer, bigger bottle. I looked under his pillows, all around his bed, shook out his blanket… nothing.
The med alarm went off at 6:45 and I doped his face. He was doing the chalk thang at the time. Then I uncovered Sven… still in Brumation Mode.
Daughter stumbled to the bathroom at 7:00, then went back to her room and reappeared about twenty minutes later. She had some kind of work class or training or something from 8am to 10am today. I told her about the missing water bottle, she said it was in her room and went to get it. Apparently Ben Bounced her at some point too, but she was able to go back to sleep.
Ben and I dropped her off and came back to Dogzilla in the window and stuff knocked down. We were gone maybe twenty minutes… an eternity!
Ben grabbed his gun and wanted more caps. I wanted a Happy King so I got a package of caps. For the next hour or so Ben happily pop pop popped the gun and Zeus bark bark barked AT the gun. Fun times at Casa Cuckoo.
Daughter texted that they would probably be done early but I hadn’t heard back by 9:35. We left around 9:45 and she got done at 10:05. So much for being done early. We got home and saw that Dogzilla had rampaged again. It makes me very tempted to leave him outside in the backyard when we make short trips like that. He would probably really lose it if he was locked out of the house. Spoiled rotten is what he is, the Big Dummy!
Daughter and Ben settled on the couch. She had some online stuff she had to complete and Ben wanted to “help” her, he wanted to play with the laptop. She was doing a good job of playing and joking with him while telling him to stop trying to touch the keyboard.
One thing I’ve noticed she says a lot that I want to talk to her about is “I promise” a promise is worthless if it isn’t followed through. Once may be forgiven but she uses “I promise” too freely. I made a habit of never definitely agreeing to anything if I wasnt 100% sure I could deliver. I say “probably” or “it should be fine” or “I’ll do my best” because life has a way of getting complicated and shit happens. Annnnnd… I’m done with the tangent.
I went directly to Horizontal Time. It wasn’t long before Ben was in my room asking for help and needing me to Write The Words and also needing tape. At first it was just one thing and he left. Then he came back, and came back and Gramma got frustrated. (My problem is that when I think I’m “Off Duty” I get frustrated when he comes to me with his mother sitting right there next to him. If I tell myself I’m NEVER “Off Duty” then I expect interruptions and I don’t get as frustrated. I just have to REMEMBER not to relax while he’s awake.) I finally went out to the living room and sat on the floor next to where he’d spread everything out on the couch and wrote and cut and taped until he was satisfied. Daughter was still doing her online whatever for work. It would’ve been better for her to do it in her room. Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda… doesn’t matter. She finished and Ben stayed with her. It was good for them to be in the same room without anger.
I spent my Horizontal Time going through my WP Reader and listening to Zeus snore. Tough life that poor pupper has… very tough.
Around 2:00 I went out to use the bathroom and Daughter said “I’m going to need to charge my laptop pretty soon.” I didn’t say anything. After the bathroom, I went to my room, grabbed my stuff and came out and told her “Tag” She said she was planning on waiting until after his meds, I told her I could do his meds, I was up already, just go. She went. I gave Ben his meds, made another cup of coffee and settled into Living Room Duty.
4:30 and Daughter is still in her room. I have a feeling she went to sleep. If she did, I’ll have to fix something for Ben’s dinner. It’s getting close to that time.
It’s been a nice mellow day. Not much of a day off for me, but I must remember that I don’t get days off. Tonight’s song is one I heard while I was dropping off or picking up today and it’s been with me all day.
Thanks for coming by Casa Cuckoo and hanging out. Not a very exciting day but that’s okay. There could be excitement in five minutes, later this evening, tomorrow or not until next week. (Yeah, right!) I know I’ll have to make a trip to the grocery store soon. That’s exciting, right? Whatever happens, we’ll have fun and make it an Adventure. See ya tomorrow…
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HUGS!
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King Ben's Grandma 
At least no angry Ben. That’s a big plus. Hugs Angie. Take care. Treat yourself to something nice at the store.
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No angry Ben is always good. We still have an hour to go til bedtime but I think we’ll be okay.
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Great. Warm hugs
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Catchy song. I’ve never heard it before. 🎶 Even with a few clouds it was a beautiful sunset 🌅. Hope the evening goes well and you get a little break. Hugs 🤗. I’ll be by in the morning for coffee ☕️🍪😊💝
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The sunset is always pretty. The clouds just make it more dramatic. Looks like there are a few clouds tonight. We’ll see in about 30 minutes. Between 7:45-8:15 is the prime time. The sun goes behind the hills to the west around 8 and that’s my favorite time…Twilight Time.
I’ll have the coffee hot and ready☕😉🤗🥰
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Oh my, Bob does that too. Don’t say, “I promise” if you don’t mean it. Declan has just written that promise in stone and if Bob doesn’t actually do what he promised there will be hell to pay. I am a “we’ll see” person. And gosh, if the food I serve to Declan isn’t spot on, he won’t eat it either. Which I can be flexible with while Bob (since we eat together now all the time) is a “eat it or no dessert or snacks tonight.” Which isn’t necessarily wrong, but when it is laid out like that to Declan – again – all hell breaks loose. I am glad you had a pretty okay day! I hope today is the same or even better! 🙂
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It’s another alternate universe morning… Ben slept until 6:30😲…no Bounce, just a yell to relocate as he ran past toward the bathroom. Daughter got up and took over a little after 7:00 and I went back to bed and dozed in & out until 10:30!!!😮😯😲
I definitely needed the rest! Ben and Daughter getting along is a bonus!
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That’s awesome!!! Yay!!!!
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I get your frustration about not getting a break. But you have a good attitude about it.
We have a terminally ill relative in Hospice. It’s my ex husband’s father, Curtis’ grandfather. I’m wishing Curtis would do more to get involved, yet he is keeping his distance. This family has been mean to him for years. They gave all of his father’s money to Curtis’ uncle to manage. But that’s nothing new. Curtis has not only not had a father in this man, but the guy has dementia too at 56 years old. He has been unemployed on disability for years. He gave up custody of Curtis when Curtis was 6 so he wouldn’t have to pay child support. Never called. Never anything.
Now the grandfather is ill. I wish Curtis would have more empathy for this guy. it’s not happening. Not sure if it’s a narcissist thing or what. Trying not to get involved.
Hope you get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Teri
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I dont blame Curtis really. Sounds like they share DNA and nothing else. Watching someone die is difficult. When my grandmother passed when I was 15 it was brutal. She had cancer. I was never close with her (long story… my family has DYSFUNCTIONAL written back generations) and I didn’t like being there. It was traumatic with no positive.🤷🏼♀️
I email occasionally with my bio-father, but I don’t want anything more. He’s basically a stranger (he left when I was 3) and I don’t need him in my life. I email him FOR him. He’s in his 70s and blah blah blah… it’s just a kindness to another human.
Curtis is lucky he had/has Ken. And a fantastic Mom too, of course!💖
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Thank you. Yeah. Curtis’s dad left when i was 7.5 months pregnant! It was tough.
Listening to Dr Gabor Mate’ recently on You Tube. Really interesting stuff about addiction and how you are affected for the rest of your life if you were traumatized in utero, or as a young child. Worth listening to.
It’s just sad. I wish i could help him more with mental health stuff.
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I try to encourage my girls to get mental health help… they flat out refuse. They both know they have problems, but they dont want to get help.🤷🏼♀️ They wont go to an MD when they’re sick either… just stubborn.
And… Gee, I don’t know where they got that.🤔😉😂😂
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So pleased it was a mellow day. Those are good some days. x
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Rare and wonderful and very much appreciated when they happen!💌
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I don’t know if I could tolerate the cap-gun thing, so your ability to put up with it is another example of your shining benevolence. I mean, it’s good that it keeps Ben occupied for a bit, and I’m sure that aspect helps you deal, but the constant pops would inspire me to say very bad things at a very wrong time.
Even as a child, I wasn’t a fan. Sure, I might play with one if the situation arose and there wasn’t anything else to do, but after about three bangs I was done and would move on. Of course, I was an odd child, and I didn’t really like noise. I associated noise with violence, and there was already too much of that in my younger years.
Unrelated note should we ever dine together: I actually like my pizza to be a little overdone. I’m not a fan of finding little pockets of underdone wetness. I want bread, not dough… 😉
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When we make pizza at home we use Boboli (or the generic equivalent) so no worries on it being doughy.
If my nerves are already shot, the pop pop pop bothers me. Just like the violence bothers me. I spent way too many years living in violence. I’ve had a loaded gun pointed at my face.
Most of the time with Ben, my brain is able to override the gut reaction. He’s playing and he’s “acting”, he’s in character… if that makes sense. Ben is only violent during a meltdown and that’s pure lizard brain fight/flight… no control.
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