What’s Happenin’

This entry is just a little catch-up on what’s happening in my life right now. And also a tiny bit of ranting.

But first of all, I’d like to say a very special thank you to everyone who left me comments. Thank you! I don’t really expect any comments about the story (although I really appreciate and love them) because when you’re trying to follow along on something like this that’s being dragged out forever, it’s very hard to get a full sense of the story line. You lose the emotions that are associated with each chapter, let alone the story as a whole.

I’m still working on the story and will be for a very, very long time. I have notes for every day of the story period about things that I plan to happen. When I started this story, I didn’t plan on it being one chapter per day – let alone writing nearly this much. It just sort of happened. Now it’s become something of a challenge for me, and I have to admit, so far I’m really loving it. I’m worried that some chapters might get a bit dull later, but my job is to try to keep them from being too dull. There is a definite conclusion to this story and it’s going to take every day that I have outlined to get there. So if I make it, it should only take another two thousand years or so to post it all.

Along with this story, I’m also writing three other stories now. Two of them are more for the legitimate market that I hope to someday publish (If I ever get off my ass and try to find an agent).

For those of you who have been concerned about my home life, another huge Thank You! We took my in-laws back to Louisiana about a month ago – they very suddenly demanded to go home even we all knew they couldn’t take care of themselves. We were thinking that they would probably stay there through the holidays, but last Friday night they called and said they wanted to come back right away. It was only a matter of five minutes between us not planning on getting them for a long time, till we were packing our bags to head out the door. So we have them again, this time probably for a long time – if not forever.

We have discussed nursing homes and long term facilities for them. We know that it’s going to probably be necessary at some point. But not yet. Especially since my wife is so adamant about taking care of them. My father in-law is getting more and more addle-headed and definitely much weaker. We’re now trying to find a very lightweight wheelchair to buy for him. He often asks the same question every ten or fifteen minutes.

Even though they’re in our house fulltime now, my wife considers that I have to be around all the time, or I’m being anti-social. We watch tons of TV, even though I can’t hear any of it. The reason I don’t hear any of it – even with the volume turned way up – is because my wife and her mother never ever stop talking. I sat and tried to time them two nights ago while we all watched TV. The longest my mother in-law was able to go without saying something was eleven seconds (from six thirty to ten o’clock). Then I tried it again last night, but the phone rang. As soon as my wife hung up the phone it rang again. Then again. And again. Between my wife and her mother they stayed on the phone for three and a half solid hours – while they watched TV. That’s very common here! All that talking is probably one of the reasons why my father in-law demands to go to bed so early.

My vacation from work is scheduled for later in October. I’m required to take a full five days in a row. My wife and I were planning on renting a house up in the mountains for a few days. Something we both love to do. We haven’t done it in a very long time now. We haven’t done anything in a very long time now. We were at the brink of booking something that would hold us and my wife’s parents for a few nights, but I backed down and stopped it at the last second. Why? Because I got scared. I got scared because of money.

We have three kids and six grandchildren and now one great grandchild between us. And I’m helping to support all too many of them. If it wasn’t for the grandkids, we’d tell our kids to fend for themselves. But how do you say no to kids who are hungry? On the positive side, my daughter is finally working again in a real good job and has had a paycheck! She’s doing much better and things will improve there over time. But the other two… the boys. One drives a truck and his company is barely hanging on. The other one is waiting on word that the plant he works in will be closing. They’ve already cut everybody in the plant down to 36 hours a week and things look real bad.

While I keep hearing about the economy getting better, all I see is that it’s getting worse. For the first time ever, the company I work for didn’t give a cost of living increase. That’s ok. I’m lucky I still have a job. My county taxes went up a whopping full seven hundred dollars this year. That bill is coming up soon. My insurance rates are going out of sight. All my utilities and other bills are going up. And have any of your checked the price of groceries lately? But fortunately Christmas is just around the corner.

I try to keep looking on the bright side and count my blessings. But sometimes things just overwhelm me. It’s difficult. But for my wife and family’s sake, I try to keep as bright an outlook as possible about everything and smile. Everyone looks to me as if I know the answers to everything and like I can solve anything. I guess I’ve done all right so far. But the truth is, I feel all too inadequate. A normal feeling I’m sure.

And so I turn to the only escapism I have. I write. In my fantasies, life is a lot more interesting. The pressures are different. In my mind I get to live someone else’s life. Some fantasies are total fun. Some are not. But all of them interest me enormously. I’m really glad that this blog is letting me share one of those fantasies with you. To me, it’s fun and challenging. I only pray that it’s providing a few others with a few moments of relief and escapism from the stresses of their lives too.

Thanks for being with me,
Karen