Part 352 ~ 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 more of the same. Other than the storm that blew in and out, the sky has been totally clear for days and days. It’s nice to see the blue, but a few clouds would be nice too. The low humidity is horrible for my plaque psoriasis. It makes my skin drier and itchier than usual.

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Anyway, I took pictures cuz that’s what I do. Ben was chillin on my bed, watching his tablet. I came inside and found him dozing, so I woke him up. He’d already eaten, so I ran his bath while Daughter stripped him down. It was early, but we needed him to stay awake to Drive Miss Daisy.

We got Daughter to work without any problems, then I drove home, settled The Boys, and texted Daughter to let her know we were home safe. Then Stuff and Things, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…

I konked around 11pm, woke up around 3am and saw that I hadn’t taken my pill. 3am is way too late, especially when I have to pick Daughter up from work. I was awake for thirty minutes or so, then drifted in and out until 5am.

Around 6am I let Dogzilla out of Ben’s room, then headed outside to look at the sky. Ben woke up, but didn’t get up until after his meds. When I took them in to him, and said Good Morning, his first words were “No bus today.” Unfortunately I had to agree with him. I told him we had to get his Mama in a bit, but then we would stay home. He stayed in bed a while longer, and I took pictures of the sunrise, cuz that’s what I do.

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We got to the hospital early, so we listened to the radio and waited. Daughter got off on time, and she told me about her shift on the way home. One of her patients is an autistic man who is a resident of the Skilled Nursing Facility she previously worked at.

She was very sad to see him in restraints. He kept pulling his I.V. out because it hurt. He has an infection, so he’s receiving antibiotics as well as the usual fluid. He needs the I.V. I guess he got combative when they were putting it back in, and they had his arms and legs restrained. Daughter took the leg restraints off, and talked to him about leaving the I.V. alone. He just kept telling her it hurt. The whole situation is heartbreaking.

When we got home she said she wished they had some kind of Autism Sensitivity training or something, so I suggested she talk to her boss about it. She could give a presentation. It didn’t have to be anything fancy or official, just her experience caring for someone with autism. If she could find a coworker on the spectrum to give the autistic perspective, it would be even better. I hope she does it.

She changed clothes and did Couch Sittin Duty, Ben ran outside and played with the chalk, and I got ready for my walk. I didn’t stop to take pictures today, just walked. The Sun was super bright, and I don’t have sunglasses or a hat. I ordered a visor with the gift-card given to me by a friend for my birthday, but it hasn’t arrived yet. Anyway, bright sunshine in my eyes gives me noggin ouchies, so I booked it, and was done in thirty-one minutes.

Ben was still outside when I got back. I told Daughter to go ahead and go sleep, that I was ready to take over. She stayed on the couch until 9:15am-ish. Ben had come back in by then and was starting to bug her with his verbal games.

The morning moved into the afternoon with not much happening. Meds at 9:30am, 10:30am and 12:30pm were the only markers of time’s passage. Ben played with his chalk, and vocalized. Lots and lots of repetition. It does start to grate on the nerves.

Sven stayed on his hammock all morning. Around 1:30pm, I looked up and saw he’d moved. I got up to paparazzi him.

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He went down to the Judgey Corner, then went to stand on his food again. He got tired of me and got back on his hammock. Daughter got up around then… 2pm-ish, and took over Couch Sittin Duty. I went to my room for some Horizontal Time.

Daughter gave Ben his pizza at 4pm. I’d brushed and rebraided his hair around 3:30pm. We were definitely ahead of schedule, but it’s better than being behind, and fighting… especially on a Driving Miss Daisy night.

The DJ in my head has been playing this tune for about a week now. It’s off and on, but it’s daily. Maybe I need a vacation. Ya think?!

A much better wake up, and a pretty mellow day. The big “Event” was Sven getting off his hammock. I like days when there’s very little to write about. Mellow is good. Tomorrow is GLYSB Eve, and Daughter is off. She works tonight though, so she’ll be sleeping tomorrow. Couch Sittin Duty for me, after my walk. Hopefully a day very much like today.

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HUGS!

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