Part 347 ~ 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 started off as same old, same old. The Parrots did a flyby which was nice. When the Sun was behind the western hills and setting into the Pacific, things started getting prettier. I got a couple pictures, but as they say on Thomas And Friends, “then there was trouble…”

Ben snatched Daughter’s phone and hit the “Emergency Call” button, calling 911. He was playing, but the dispatcher didn’t know that. He said “Send the police!” Daughter saw what he was doing, took the phone away, and explained that everything was okay and we didn’t need assistance. This is the third or fourth time Ben has called 911 in the past few weeks. We have tried to explain to him why he can’t play like that, but he either doesn’t get it, or doesn’t care. Anyway, Daughter snatching the phone from him set him off. He didn’t have a full meltdown, but it took a lot of concentrated effort from me to bring him back from the edge. By the time he was settled, it was dark, with just a bit of color on the horizon.

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I was also talking to Daughter through all this. She had a rough three shifts at work, she’s been emotional, and worn out. She’s depressed. She knows she is, but she won’t seek treatment. I’ve given up on encouraging her to see a mental health professional or even trying some of the self-help options. She’s an adult and has to choose her own path.

Anyway, she was crying, asking what she could’ve done differently with Ben, telling me how tired she was, how frustrated with everything she was, and basically how unhappy she was. I listened and tried to be supportive and understanding, while also checking on Ben and calming him down, explaining about calling 911, and getting him ready for his bath. Zeus was my ever-present shadow and often underfoot. Chaos at the Casa…

I got Ben in the tub, Daughter tuned everything out, and escaped into one of her shows, and I cleaned up the chalk, and moved Ben’s stuff to his room. After his bath, Daughter got him into a nightgown (she forgot it was a school night. We usually have him sleep in whatever shirt he is going to wear to school… makes getting ready in the morning a bit easier) and settled for sleep, with Zeus at his feet.

She went to her room, I did my usual, and konked around 10:30 or 11:00. I slept much better, with only one or two brief wakeups. I woke for good around 5am, but stayed in bed until I heard Daughter moving around.

She got Ben up at 6:30 for meds and to start preparing for school. He was awake, but it was a “stay in bed” kind of morning. I went out to look at the sky, the Sun was already up, but it’s habit, and I like to say Good Morning to any of my avian friends passing by. Yes, of course I took pictures.

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It was a good morning, no drama, no problems. The GLYSB arrived on time and Happy Dancing was on schedule. I did almost trip and fall, Dancing over uneven pavement on the way back to the house, but I caught myself, and all was well. I thought about taking my walk then, but the breeze was still chilly, so I decided to wait til 8:30am. I walked the same two mile route, but faster today… thirty-two minutes. My goal is to walk it in twenty-five minutes or less. After I can do that, I’ll start adding distance.

After changing back into my sloppies, I started going through email, paid some bills, then started on my WP. Time flew by, and before I knew it, it was 1:27pm and Ben was being scanned onto the bus.

HRH arrived home at 1:52pm and went straight out the side door to the back yard. I went out after him to make sure everything was okay. Usually when he goes straight outside like that it’s because he’s had a bad day, and he’s getting ready to “fuck shit up”, as Daughter says. I found him sitting in the shade playing with the chalk that was out there. I told him I got him Crazy Bread and there was a soda for him when he wanted to come back in. He said okay. Daughter said he’d had some trouble at school today. Eloping and not wanting to come back… screaming that he wanted to go home. It’s difficult to be back at school with more rules and expectations, even though it’s a nice change. His school is great at helping the students work through their difficulties in a safe and caring way.

After his 2:30pm meds he came inside and ate some bread, and watched his tablet. Then around 3:15pm he came and asked me for a big box of chalk. I got one for him. He sat down, dumped it, and started doing his thang. I guess that didn’t quite satisfy, cuz at 3:30 he brought his tablet, and joined me for some Horizontal Time.

That’s gonna do it for today. I’m still working on getting through my Reader, and since I lose track of time, I’m going to publish this before I forget. It’s happened before.

I liked these guys, even bought their cassette, way back in the day.

A decent night’s sleep, a good morning getting Ben ready for school, Happy Dancing and a quiet house. A good walk, and a bunch of Horizontal Time. Even the afternoon was pretty good. We have another GLYSB Day tomorrow. With the exception of the rough time Ben had at school, I hope it’s very much like today.

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HUGS!

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