October 18, 2004
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Let me begin with my fairyland weekend; the one where my brother and daughter, and this is a first, have a little driving lesson. The last time my brother and this child, or any of my children, did anything together was when they were very small. He used to come over a fair amount when my ex-husband was out of town, which was Tues through Thursday. But as soon as they figured out he was a little different; that, in fact, my whole family was very different, they kept their distance. But now that he is around the corner and knows a lot about engines, and she needed help putting in spark plugs and a window, we called Uncle Tom. He was thrilled. When I looked out the kitchen window they stood side by. He was passing something on that he might never have gotten to, as he has no children. We all piled in my car and went to the junk yard to find the window, and on the way back we stopped at a pumpkin patch. By then they were both humoring me as I wandered down memory lane, only without the irritation of my ex. Probably the last thing we did, as a family, was to go to the pumpkin patch. I even have a picture of us on a hay wagon: it was grim. This fine fall day, with a male family figure, and my estranged daughter, eagerly picking pumkins, seemed so right. Between the car and the puppy, and the fact that all of her earnings are going to me for a while, the only time she wanted to leave was to go to work. It seems like a terrible way to lure her here for the weekend but, hey, whatever works. My feelings won’t be hurt if you feel like pointing out a better way to get her to drive over here. I thought about just insisting but that seemed wrong.
I just spent $1300 to get my washer and dryer hooked up, get a new faucet and take the footpedals out, put new shower heads on and snake out a drain. This includes the plumber purchasing a washtub, sump pump, hard pipe for the washer and dryer, and for a full day’s work, with a second man for five hours. When I heard $50 an hour I thought, whoa, what a deal. The guy is slow and never shuts up. But I believe him to be honest and conscientious. I just went down there, though, and there is water leaking on the floor.
Comments (1)
Nice mental picture there – of your daughter and your brother under the hood of her car – I think you’re right, that’s real memory stuff right there. I’m sure they’re both glad of it (though maybe neither will say it out loud.)
And hooray on the plumbing repairs – is the leak gone? I’m cheering you on as you fix up this place!