Monday, November 13, 2006

Flu Sandwich Sweatshirt Christian

I am taking the boys to get flu shots after school tomorrow. Shh...
they don't know yet. I will tell them we are going on a little ride.
Which always makes me think of a story my Hillbilly Mama told
me. A friend of hers had a friend who was quite elderly. The little
old lady was excited because her son and his family were coming
by to take her for a ride on Sunday. She talked about it all week.
Sunday came, and they showed up. They loaded her into the car
and took off. They drove her to a nursing home and left her. So
much for the 'ride'. Doesn't that make you want to cry? If not, the
thought of a flu shot should make you cry. I got several comments
about Demon Flu Shot last time I wrote about it.

Last Friday, HH stayed home from work to pick up the returning
veteran son at Reavis Barracks. He always throws things off when
he's home. He has taken to staying in bed until we leave for school,
because he creates such a disruption. Well, he can even disrupt the
morning routine from bed. I forgot my lunch, for the first time all
year. I called HH on the way to school and asked if he could bring
it to me. It was just a roast beef sandwich, not a leg of lamb or
anything. HH agreed. Good ol' HH. Sometimes he does do something
right. He arrived with the sandwich, and came in the back door and
then to my room. Good thing he wasn't an intruder. He asked if he
could use the bathroom before he left, but I told him no, to wait until
he got to Wal*Mart. No need to tempt fate. The kids get scared
when there is a strange man in their bathroom.

As soon as HH left, I remembered that I wanted him to get orange
sweatshirts for the boys. It is deer hunting season, you know. If they
wanted to play outside over the weekend, I wanted people to know
they were not deer cavorting on the grounds of the Mansion. HH
said he would get them. I gave him the sizes. That was the last I
thought of it until Saturday. HH said they were going down in the
woods with the vet and his other son. I told him to get the orange
sweatshirts. "I didn't get them sweatshirts. They were $17!" Umm...
yes, that's about the price of any sweatshirt right now. "I wasn't
spending that much money for something they wouldn't wear again.
I got them sock caps and velcro vests." Which of course they are
going to wear again. I can hear it now...."Moooooommmmm!
Where did you put my orange velcro vest? I was planning to wear
it to school today!"

It is the time of year again when I will be busy as a beaver. I suppose
beavers are busy, because you never see them running through the
fields like deer and turkey, or smashed on the road like possums.
I have 6 semester finals to create in the next month. I have to clean
out my Writing-Across-the-Curriculum notebook and put in 9 new
entries. Oh, but first I have to decide on the writing prompts. We
have an early out day again next week for Thanksgiving. We don't
flip the schedule on that day, but I hear the lunch times will be moved
up. Which makes me curious, because my class goes to lunch 20
minutes after I arrive at that building. Then there's the business of
my 25 lesson plans per week. Thank the Gummi Mary that I have
one class who brings their work to me. Or else it would be 30 of
those pesky thingamajigs per week. I must remember to show up
for my ticket-selling duty that is the same night as #2 son's Christmas
Program. Only I thought they weren't supposed to call it 'Christmas'
anymore, just like Halloween is now 'Fall Festival'. They can't sing
any recognizable Christmas carols, which kind of takes the Christmas
spirit right out of me. Funny thing is...the program he brought home
proclaims "Kookaburra's Christmas Down Under". So there is still
the mention of Christmas. That seems like the pot calling the kettle
'Christian' to me, but they don't ever consult me on these things.
Go figure!

9 comments:

LanternLight said...

They drove her to a nursing home and left her. So much for the 'ride'. Doesn't that make you want to cry?

Heartless AND cruel :-(

I wanted people to know they were not deer cavorting on the grounds of the Mansion.

Is it the Wild West out there???

Betty said...

As I understand it, the great god Wal-Mart has decreed that it can again be Christmas this year. Enough of that "Happy Holidays" foolishness. Thank goodness!

Stewed Hamm said...

Interesting question posed by your supposedly non-christmas christmas program... if it's Austrailian, is it really christmas?

I'm with HH. I used to wear blaze orange every chance I get, but you wouldn't catch me dead in a sweatshirt. Do they even make those anymore?

kenju said...

I laughed at the part about your husband not buying the sweatshirts in favor of vests. Men's thinking is often skewed - at leat in my experience!

Michele sent me. You're funny!

D said...

That was cruel to do to the Grandmother!

I'm glad Walmart saw the need to get back to Christmas this year!

Glad your boys were safe as the were rocking those vests! *G*

Cazzie!!! said...

The story of the little old lady being left at a nursing home is just like what my mum did to my nan..only I took her outta that scummy shithole and had her live with us. Bugger it, she only needed blood sugar monitoring and an insulin injection 3 times a day. She needed reorientation at night time when she would come to my bedroom and turn the light on and ask for the toilet location!!! But, it was worth it, she loved it and my first son loved his greatgrandma. But, I see it at work, it happens alot, people have no time for the elderly now, the hospital is now a place to drop off the oldies and just so the family can go on vacation too!!! I hope my kids learn from what we did for my nanna, and that they don't go dropping us off anytime when we are old and frail at some nursing home to lead a monotonous life.
"Kookaburra's Christmas Down Under"
Got any pics of that? Sounds cool :)

Hillbilly Mom said...

Lantern,
It is very nearly the Wild West. A few years back, HH's buddy, Buddy, would chase unfamiliar cars and stop them for questioning. He made sure they saw his gun, too. Some other neighbors had two 4-wheelers stolen out of their barn in the middle of the night. We had a lawnmower stolen from beside our barn. Lucky for us it was the non-working one of our three mowers. Since Buddy's tactics, nothing else has been missing.

Betty,
As Wal*Mart goes, so goes the world.

StewingthepotwiththeAustralians,
It is still the 'word' Christmas on the front of the advertisements. I believe it's a bit hypocritical of that music teacher to publish such a thing.

By 'sweatshirt' I mean 'hoodie'. You young whippersnappers probably think my 'thongs' are the buttcrack kind, too.

And while you're insulting the Australians, let me just add that I knew the answer to the trivia question: "What's Australian for 'beer'?" I've seen my share of Fosters commercials, by cracky!


Kenju,
My mother gave me one piece of advice the day before I got married. "Honey, they're all alike." It has served me well.

Drop in anytime. Every now and then, I amuse people.


Scrappy,
The older boy needled HH all weekend. "I guess I'll go put on my orange sweatshirt. OH! I don't HAVE one!" It was especially annoying when HH burned a hole in his OWN orange sweatshirt, and said, "Oh, well. I'll just buy another one." And the boy said, "You mean a SEVENTEEN DOLLAR one?"


Cazzie,
You ROCK, taking care of your granny! I will try to get some photos of the Kookaburra thingy. The program is Nov. 30.

Stewed Hamm said...

HM, your kid's the shizzle. (That's whippersnapper talk for something cool... like Bee's knees, or Cat's pajamas, or Martin Van Buren)

Hillbilly Mom said...

Stewerrat,
I am hep to your lingo, cat!