I'll Sit This One Out

The brother-in-law and his wife are leaving in a few hours. When I'm overwhelmed, I go into a little stupor. I've probably been in a semi-stupor for a long time but the last couple of weeks have been extreme stuporville.

Then they swept in and pitched in. They've helped with both oldies. They've helped the husband look at options and make some (not all) decisions. We don't exactly have a game plan but we're a lot further ahead than we were three days ago. The brother-in-law has organized Hangdog's medications into a system that I actually understand. As I mentioned yesterday, the sister-in-law has cooked and organized my pantry.

They've been so attentive and nice to Hangdog. I don't know if he understands that they are leaving and then it's back to Big, Mean Me.

Of course, they wanted to visit the mother-in-law before they have to leave. Of course, they were kind enough to include Hangdog. Since I spent a fair amount of time on the phone last night getting an update on her condition and behavior, I decided to let the three of them go. The husband and I will be running up there constantly after they leave so I opted to say, "No thank you very much. I'll sit this one out."

I'm alone in my house. I'm doing a short happy dance.

I've (Almost) Run Out of Teenagers

The baby is happily off at college. My next door neighbor's child (and my friend) is there too. My elder goddaughter is attending a different college, but she's out of here also. I'm a mess.

I don't know how to throw a party without some teenagers to help with errands and hauling. If I go brain dead with some computer issue, I need a teenager. When work calls me away for hours at a time, I could count on a teenager to help with Gabby or the oldies. Why can't I program my iPod or my cellular phone? My usual answer would be provided by one of my teenagers.

The teenage years are when the young ones test the waters. It's a little dance. The rest of us who survived the teenage years cha cha back. We've been there. We remember. That's especially scary for parents, even parents of "good" kids.

I need my teenagers. I want them to have this great experience of college and the big, wide world. But, I hope they come home for the holidays because I need some help.