Tuesday timing

[lucylee]

Hello, hello! Long day here... went to nursing home w/ds, ddil, dgs... then kept dgs while ds & ddil went to gospel singing program. DH went to dmil's to watch the program on tv (she gets it on local cable channel, but we don't get it on satellite) and dgs and I stayed here and took a nap! Last night, dh and I both had a terrible time getting to sleep! DH has felt miserable all day long because of it.

THEN... I am NOT BELIEVING THIS...
While we were out this afternoon, we got a call from S tub H ub -- the ticket agency where I ordered the G eorge S trait tickets. AAAUAUGUGGHHH!!! I received my tickets waaay back in November. They look fine. However, today, they said the seller went to pick up his own tickets and discovered that the venue had REPRINTED tickets and MINE ARE NO LONGER VALID. The seller wants to send me NEW tickets. * sheesh * They assured me that these would be the same, lower-level, aisle seats... but ohhhh my goodness... IF they are not... FIRST, dh will just not go (or at least he will not sit there) in a seat that is not an aisle seat. His claustrophobia is just so severe that he cannot stand it. SECOND, as I told the lady from S tub H ub, this is the second time we have had a big mess with them. (Remember all the chaos with our BCS Championship tickets?) *** AUUUUGGHGHHH *** The concert is in exactly TEN DAYS. *** AAAAAUUGGGHGHH ***
I just better have a tracking number tomorrow morning and get these tickets SOON so I can see. If they have messed these up again, I will be posting on every social media site in the world about what a mess they have caused me, not once but TWICE. * sheesh * You pay an arm and a leg through them to get the EXACT seats you want, and then you have these kinds of problems.

And then, ddil wants to know if we have plans Thursday night AND/OR Saturday night. (She wants to go to another music thing w/ds Saturday.) DH told her we would at least one of those nights! * sigh *

We picked up our tax stuff today too, Ivy... ready to send in.

Yes, good luck with the gophers and moles, OKay! They are a thorn in my dmom's side, too. She has been considering calling someone to take care of hers. The ground in her yard is just soft b/c of all their trails.
Hope your dh gets all the business repairs done soon! I know that's driving you both crazy!

Waving to ALL!!!

[Harriet]

lucylee, the need for an aisle seat is not a little thing - very important to many people who have claustrophobia. HRH fights it, too, definitely.

Frantic day.

first, only 5 hrs sleep because for the first time in our marriage, HRH said, "I can't sleep, stay with me (in LR)" rather than telling me to go on to bed. He was trying to process things that happened yesterday. So this morning he went off to a meeting he just couldn't put off (so many things put off), I did get a load of laundry done. But I fell asleep!

Then to gravesite (because, of course HRH is responsible for everything no one else can make decisions or check on anything, but hand it all to him) and frankly some upset. Both our nerves were just fried, and we ended up fussing, me in tears. the weeks of exhaustion and frustration dealing with so many personalities just crashed in. Both of us at different times announced we weren't going tonight to the big visitation. But we pulled it together. Dd and I did have a last-minute shopping circuit through one store, and though we missed the viewing (no one expected us) we made it there just in time for start of visitation.

We both transformed as needed into social butterflies, which belies the fact we are really introverts. His uncle pointed it out to me afterward. We spoke to every person, something to learn from each one, "working" the rooms, in a way, knowing where the other was but not needing each other. He beat me to the punch of getting needed addresses and emails this time. Dd did very well, too, quiet but willing to step up to be introduced and listen to the stories others want to entrust to her (named for great-grandmother). Dstepson was just a rock for us all as usual, dstepdil so kind.

HRH was the one everyone wanted to talk to, and he kept leaving and being pulled back in, over and over, with dd and dstepson taking turns trying to extricate him, until finally we were the last to drive away. He thanked me on the way home for "making" him go, so I guess he was more serious than I'd realized about threatening not to attend! (whew)

Gotta have a little bragging. All heads turned when ds28 walked in, wearing his dress uniform, followed by his entire shift in their dress uniforms too, out of respect for ds' step-grandfather, a former volunteer firefighter and fundraiser at their city's oldest firehouse. HRH said he'd never seen ds look better (new captain's uniform). Joe's wife was very touched by all their effort and time.

So... ... half the social gauntlet run, half to go. Will we manage? Can we make it through? LOL!

[lucylee]

(((Harriet & HRH))) Oh... so many thoughts running through my mind, b/c your experience brings back so much of my own... Ddad's funeral was 10 months ago tomorrow (today? Wednesday), but it seems like yesterday. And large Southern families are so similar. I very very much remember feeling that I just could not attend, could not face my dgmother's funeral -- the first of my grandparents to pass away -- and I really did not feel I could manage it. BUT... as your experience shows, yes, I was glad I went, of course. The stories that are shared, the way family does seem to pull together eventually, the comfort we can draw from each other... no one looks forward to these inevitable times, but there is a purpose to all the rituals.

because for the first time in our marriage, HRH said, "I can't sleep, stay with me (in LR)"

And I feel sooo much for your dh... remember, I told you dh quit sleeping (at least in any normal sense of the word) when his ddad had his stroke. DH mentioned Sunday that it had been 9 years that day since his dad had his stroke, and I thought, that day stands out in dh's mind as much as the day his ddad passed away. For all practical purposes, dh lost his dad that day -- or at least, the roles reversed forever -- and it is a date that is stamped forever in dh's mind. I don't think your dh will quit sleeping -- he still has morning obligations that require him NOT to live like a vampire! But still... (((HRH)))

So proud of ds28 and his coworkers.

Can you get through the next round tomorrow? YES, YOU CAN! (You will likely be exhausted afterwards, but yes, you and your dfamily will manage beautifully through all the details of tomorrow.) (((BIG HUGS))) for ALL of you!!!

[Lynlee]

Sending hugs and prayers (((Harriet, HRH, dd, entire family))) How touching that ds came with his Work mates. It seems a test of strength to get through those busy days. I do hope HRH and you can get some quality sleep soon.