Mrs. Fetched is reading in bed, and I can’t sleep with the light on.
Snippet is supposed to leave tomorrow. It looks like it won’t happen, at least right away. I expected The Boy to try throw wrenches, I definitely expected Snippet to do it… but for whatever reason, I didn’t expect her mom to throw wrenches. She’s coming tomorrow alright, but with a load of excuses and some “rent” money. As far as I can tell, she doesn’t want to have Snippet with her… not the kind of thing I expect from a mom. No, I’m not anywhere near happy about it — but at the end of the day, I don’t want to be responsible for what happens to a teenage female on the street. So we had a powwow of sorts this evening, The Boy and Snippet agreed to a laundry list of requirements, and two hours later The Boy is already pushing at them. To be honest, except for one problem I walked into, Snippet mostly doesn’t give too much trouble. I think maybe we should keep Snippet and toss The Boy. Maybe he should go live with Snippet’s mom.
Mrs. Fetched had to take Daughter Dearest to the doctor again today; DD has had strep for a while and she relapsed after starting to respond to the antibiotics. The docs took a blood test and warned that she might have mono — which DD swears is not going to cancel her prom appearance. (EJ is “escorting” her for the evening.) But in the doctor’s office, Mrs. Fetched said she heard three people say they were going to quit their jobs in the next few weeks because they can’t afford to drive to them anymore. Bus service isn’t exactly useful in rural areas, unfortunately. But with the prices of luxuries like food going through the roof, you have to wonder what’s next. Mrs. Fetched’s mom is working with a milk cow, getting her used to people grabbing and pulling on the ol’ udders, and that might be how we get milk very shortly. [Note: this is not FAR Future. Do not adjust your browser.] I was joking with DD that she might have to start milking a cow recently.
“Hey. You could do it,” she suggested.
“Yeah… but I might enjoy it,” I grinned. She rolled her eyes and walked away.
Snippet and EJ could well become apprentice gardeners for Mrs. Fetched’s mom, who considers a “small garden” to be roughly five acres. Tomorrow night is supposed to bottom out in the upper 30s and after that, it warms up pretty quick. I was noticing that some blackberry vines were already starting to bloom, so we might get a mild blackberry winter this time.
And of course, the battery on my new motorcycle is already wearing out after nine months — it can take a charge, but not keep it. If it’s not one thing around here, it’s another. Maybe I can get a new battery Thursday.
Monday, April 28, 2008
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Oh jeez ... the drama just never stops, does it? Good luck with this situation, but honestly, what kind of mother is that (Snippet's)? If you really expect a bunch of wrench throwing to occur, you might want to go out and get a hard hat!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that DD may have mono ... I had that my Senior yr in HS and it takes a long time to recover from it. I spent most of that summer being totally wiped out most of the time, but still had to work my butt off to make money for college. Glad those days are over. Now I just slave to pay the mortgage, lol.
As do I, IVG. As do I. Fortunately, the wrenches are metaphorical, so no hard hat — but they do a fine job of jamming the gears of progress.
ReplyDeleteSnippet's mom has had to deal with breast cancer, all the lesser health issues brought on by treatment of same, and the constant threat of a recurrence. Mrs. Fetched has expressed the opinion that she's trying to get Snippet either married off or otherwise in a safe place for a worst-case scenario.
As for DD, it's often hard to tell the difference between mono and her normal lethargic state. :-P
It's not your problem that Snippet is on the street, it's her Mom's problem. Looks like they've already twisted you guys enough to make you feel that Snippet is "your" responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThe Boy and Snippet will be living there well into their late 20's and maybe early 30's unless you guys start with the tough love and show both of them the door. :)
Could your motorcycle have a closed curcuit somewhere that drains the battery? The Mustang's battery would always go dead after a few weeks, turned out that the rear cargo light switch was on and even though the bulb was burnt out it still drained the battery.
Turn off everything on the bike, disconnect the positive battery cable and run a test light between the cable and battery post. If the test light is on, even really dim, then you have a battery drain.
Hey, Solar. Like I said, I think if we toss The Boy we wouldn't have a problem with Snippet. Mrs. F said they were fighting over something again yesterday; if they stay together much longer they might break up like he did with M.A.E. a while back. Waiting out problems seems to work better than just about anything else I've tried around here.
ReplyDeleteThe instrument panel has a clock on it, which does pull power off the battery, but it shouldn't drain it to the point where it barely turns over in 10 hours! At least it hasn't until recently — since we came back from vacation, in fact. I have an ammeter, and I'll try your suggestion with that. I don't think the clock should pull more than a few milliamps; it has sat for a month in the past & fired right up.
It's good of you to keep Snippet when she might not have another place to go. Too bad that her mother has so much to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI hope that DD feels better for the prom.
Hi FAR!
ReplyDelete"But in the doctor’s office, Mrs. Fetched said she heard three people say they were going to quit their jobs in the next few weeks because they can’t afford to drive to them anymore."
It sounds like life is colliding with fiction....
And (except for the chickens) it sounds like your life is repeating mine. :) -- Solar's right by the way. The kids WILL be with you for longer than you can imagine.
(waving) Hi IVG & Boran2
PS did you guys see Beth's news?
Solar: Update, this evening I put a ammeter in line with the battery & the positive terminal and it's only pulling 1.7mA, pretty much in line with the normal current drain with the DRZ line.
ReplyDeleteBoran, check the latest. If it's not one thing it's another, huh? At least her mom is taking care of this one. :-P
Hey KB! I know Solar is right… but they have to be out in the next few years, or life will pass fiction right on by. :-)
Re Beth: are you talking about "I'm not dead yet"? Yeah, I saw that.