The weekly rug lump game

It's Saturday so it's time for Betty to hide under the rug and torment Jake. She's been under there for an hour. He loses interest (a little ADD, I think) and goes off to do something else. Then he remembers and comes back and the lump moves a little. And he lands on top of it and it moves away. Just now she's moved a paw out the edge and he's all over that... Oh, she crawled back to the middle and he's pretending he doesn't care any more...

I found them doing this for the first time last Saturday and they haven't done it since. They must know it's Saturday because we're listening to Weekend Edition Saturday...

The weekly rug lump game

It's Saturday so it's time for Betty to hide under the rug and torment Jake. She's been under there for an hour. He loses interest (a little ADD, I think) and goes off to do something else. Then he remembers and comes back and the lump moves a little. And he lands on top of it and it moves away. Just now she's moved a paw out the edge and he's all over that... Oh, she crawled back to the middle and he's pretending he doesn't care any more...

I found them doing this for the first time last Saturday and they haven't done it since. They must know it's Saturday because we're listening to Weekend Edition Saturday...

Scare

So my phone rings tonight. Caller ID says it's Charleston, SC (where my Mom lives) but not her (she's known to my caller ID as Unknown). I say hello and it's Bert. Bert works at the front desk at the retirement place where Mom lives. It's amazing how quickly you can jump to the worst conclusions.

Bert had gotten a call from a nurse at the hospital in town that Mom wanted her to call me. Mom's friend, Libba, apparently fell and was carted off via ambulance and Mom went with her. I'm sorry about LIbba. She has really bad arthritic ankles and legs and is always terrified of falling.

But, I can't help but be grateful it wasn't Mom.

In the first year after Daddy died, Mom and I communicated by email a couple of times a day usually. She only had a dial up connection then. One day I didn't hear from her all day. I waited until she should have been back from dinner and called and got her voice mail and left a message. Nothing. Now it was too late for her to be out so I really got worried and called the front desk and explained the problem. They said they would send a security person up and call me back.

As it turned out, Mom and her friends stayed late at dinner and then she went home and put her nightgown on and got into bed and turned the TV on. This was also before she got hearing aids so the TV volume was on high. And she'd dosed off. The next thing she knows, Diane - the security lady - was standing over her bed telling her to 'call your daughter now!'

Now she has cable access to her computer and checks in many times a day. Sometimes there will be a lag and the next note will have a subject line of "Don't call Diane!!"

I probably would have worried tonight. But, I hadn't started yet.

Scare

So my phone rings tonight. Caller ID says it's Charleston, SC (where my Mom lives) but not her (she's known to my caller ID as Unknown). I say hello and it's Bert. Bert works at the front desk at the retirement place where Mom lives. It's amazing how quickly you can jump to the worst conclusions.

Bert had gotten a call from a nurse at the hospital in town that Mom wanted her to call me. Mom's friend, Libba, apparently fell and was carted off via ambulance and Mom went with her. I'm sorry about LIbba. She has really bad arthritic ankles and legs and is always terrified of falling.

But, I can't help but be grateful it wasn't Mom.

In the first year after Daddy died, Mom and I communicated by email a couple of times a day usually. She only had a dial up connection then. One day I didn't hear from her all day. I waited until she should have been back from dinner and called and got her voice mail and left a message. Nothing. Now it was too late for her to be out so I really got worried and called the front desk and explained the problem. They said they would send a security person up and call me back.

As it turned out, Mom and her friends stayed late at dinner and then she went home and put her nightgown on and got into bed and turned the TV on. This was also before she got hearing aids so the TV volume was on high. And she'd dosed off. The next thing she knows, Diane - the security lady - was standing over her bed telling her to 'call your daughter now!'

Now she has cable access to her computer and checks in many times a day. Sometimes there will be a lag and the next note will have a subject line of "Don't call Diane!!"

I probably would have worried tonight. But, I hadn't started yet.

And... that's not all

Next I get an email from a guy who lives in Charleston and has a little business helping old people with their computers. He and I are long distance computer buddies. Mom called him from the hospital to ask him to send me an email. She's really working her sources! George's note says that Mom's friend, Libba will be fine but they are doing the emergency room wait...

And... that's not all

Next I get an email from a guy who lives in Charleston and has a little business helping old people with their computers. He and I are long distance computer buddies. Mom called him from the hospital to ask him to send me an email. She's really working her sources! George's note says that Mom's friend, Libba will be fine but they are doing the emergency room wait...