Thursday, June 29, 2023

The sun is out! And eldest DD is arriving today for about 10 days. We are going out tonight with my 2 SILs for a girls night.

DH and I went to the JFK Museum in Boston yesterday. So well done and inspiring! We haven't had an orator like that for a long time. We left Boston at almost 4:30 which could have been the kiss of death with traffic but it really wasn't too bad. Having done that commute for years, I was pleasantly surprised.

DD arrives in an hour or so and will work here today. I have my second PT appointment and car servicing so I will be missing most of the sunshine :( DH is golfing with his son-in-law so he gets the benefit of it.

Time to get the room ready for DD and do my exercises.

Have a terrific Thursday!

Have fun with DD, Liz ! My day observing in family court was eye opening ! The three armed court police persons inside the courtroom certainly me feel safer than in the old days, when an elderly bailiff "maintained order". Case after case of parents who had already had their children removed and were non-compliant with their own treatment plans... The biggest change I noted was the push for permanence. Children no longer languish in foster care for their entire childhoods. If they have been out of their home 15 consecutive months out of 22, DSS files for termination of parental rights, and three of the cases were moving in that direction, with foster parents eager to adopt. I was also pleasantly impressed by the number of family members willing to step in as DSS foster placements.

Class again this morning, and hair cut this afternoon. Hot and steamy !!

I can imagine that was eye-opening. So sad when the parents can't get their act together but I am glad that the well-being of the child has become more important over the years. Deceased DH was a guardian-ad-litem once for a little girl whose Mom really loved her but couldn't stay off the drugs. She would get clean and follow the court rules long enough to get custody back then fall off the wagon a couple of months later. Then the cycle would start all over again. That little girl got yanked around for at least a few years. It was heartbreaking not just for the child but also for the Mom *****ally wanted to do the right thing for her child but couldn't escape the addiction.

What some children go through is unimaginable. Blessings to anyone who works on their behalf.

I guess today is somewhat uneventful in the way that international air travel is somewhat unremarkable these days. We had a good night's sleep, and are checked out of our hotel room. We ate passing time relaxing in the lobby, drinking tea and reading. Our flight doesn't actually leave until 8pm tonight. I believe my Aunt and Uncle will arrive in the next hour or two, and we will go over to the terminal to meet up with them. The flight is a bit more than 6 hours. It will be 8am Dublin time when we arrive, but our bodies will say 3am. Lucky for the good sleep last night :)

Good luck with the time change and enjoy Ireland!

DD, I'm glad you got good sleep! I had the worst night's "sleep" in recent memory! Maybe an hour and a half? Soooo much anxiety about my house being worked on while I'm not here, the contractor saying he wasn't going to be here while the guys are working when I thought he would be here the whole time, the guys leaving at 1:15 yesterday (I snitched to the contractor), my dad's stupid brand new $10k mattress that has to stay in the middle of the construction room because it's too complicated to move and there is no where to move it...

As with most of my anxiety attacks, everything seems much more manageable in the light of day. Argh. I hope I can sleep tonight otherwise, I won't get as far tomorrow as I hoped. They are back at it today doing paint prep. It's a big house to tape and paper.

I think I am pretty much packed. A few little things to gather up, but I'm not taking more than a few clothes because NOTHING FITS. Gaaaaah. Food wasn't bad yesterday at least. Little tasks like getting rid of perishables and putting out the pool cover pump are the last things here.

The fabric meeting with the designers was fun. I think we are picking some nice stuff. I asked her about bed skirts and she said they don't like to do them here because of scorpions. Jesus take the wheel...

I think I may go get gas and get my car washed so I have a clean buggy to travel in. Take care all!!

Take a deep breath! All will work out!

Greetings all

SCORPIONS IN THE DUST RUFFLE!! Horrors. I would build a moat around my bed.

Have fun tonight Liz. So glad you have "sisters" nearby. Wish mine were closer.

The sun made a brief appearance today. I went to the studio and played. Not much constructive activity. DH brought home turkey wraps from the health food store so no cooking tonight.

Have a good flight DD. I should not mention that we started a new series called "Hijacked" that is pretty good. Not to jinx your flight.

CC hope you get some rest and have a good trip. The nice thing about driving is you can make your own schedule. Hope you can avoid the heat wave.

Cheers all. Diane S