Jacob spent the night last night, and I had a cheerful earful until almost midnight, when finally, amid dire threats, he went to sleep. He had a bunch of new action figures, and we spent a lot of time getting them to stand upright. When I'd get one he couldn't, he'd say, "Good job, Juju!" That child, who had been whiney and complaining the night before, was absolute sunshine, told me he was going to be a good boy and he was--well, there was that issue of going to bed.
When I got the call that Charles had died, I was in my office juggling Jacob and Scooby--Jacob always wants to see the dog, but then Scooby gets excited, tries to lick him and Jacob gets scared. Commotion ensued, and that's when the phone rang. Took a while to sort it all out.
This morning he slept late and woke up cheerful, playing with his figures again and never asking for the TV--yeah!His mom came about 10:30, and we went to brunch. I ate the kind of breakfast I love but rarely allow mysself--an egg, toast, bacon (Jacob actually snatched a piece off my plate!), hash browns with ketchup. Way too much! They were all going to a barbecue tonight and then walking to the country club for fireworks. I was invited but opted out for a quiet night at home.
I spent some time this afternoon trying to write an obituary--the one helpful thing I thought I could do, and the offer was welcomed. But it's harder than you think. You can't ask a dying man where he went to high school, etc., but I wished I had. I'm hoping the family will be able to help. The osteopathic college might have some records but of course they're closed till Tuesday. The difficulty made such an impression on me that I added some more to my own obituary, which I'd started some time ago. If you asked my children who my parents were, I'm afraid they'd say, "Grandmother and Grandfather." But in writing a draft of Charles' obituary I tried to capture his approach to health care, with its emphasis on wellness and prevention, his devotion to cycling and marathoning, his love of the ranch and his determination to provide a sanctuary for wildlife, and finally his energy, wit and joy in life.
Some bad moments from yesterday have paled in comparison, but once again I left my debit card--this time at Central Market--and once again I was fortunate to get it back, though I had to make a trip back to the store. It was worth it. Cancelling a debit card, waiting for a new one, and then changing your information on sites like amazon.
A snafu that is almost funny: my recumbent exercise bicycle has decided to reset itself without my help. It set a goal for me to ride 99 minutes and 84 miles. Then it would shoot the level of difficulty up to the highest--13--while I ride at one and two for 24 minutes doing close to five miles. I could subtract and figure the time, but the mileage kept decreasing instead of, as usual, increasing. That wasn't a problem--I could still do the math. But when the resistance shot up for no reason, I gave up. My brother thinks it probably needs a new mother board, and I have emailed Schwinn. Yes, I did unplug it--didn't work.
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