Zach has been promising to bathe the dogs for over a week and today I finally found his weak spot. I take him to school at 8:50 every morning because he attends the CEC (continuing education center) where he can make up credits and begin to take college courses.
Last night I had another battle of insomnia and the insomnia won. I finally settled into bed at 2:30 and started watching "Cold Mountain." I had read the book and loved it so I gave the movie a shot. By 3:30 I was really into it but when I hit the info button on my TV during a commercial discovered it didn't end until 6AM. I moaned so loud it woke the boxer spooning me and he looked at me like I was crazy (smart pup.)
I turned the TV off at 4 and just willed myself to sleep.
I woke up at 9 and thought "Oh crap...Zach!" I jumped up and opened the door to his dungeon, complete with black out curtains and not a sliver of light to be seen. The bed looked empty and I thought he must have caught a ride to school. I shut the door and crawled back into bed. Five minutes later the door to the dungeon opened and Zach was hopping around pulling on some pants and complaining about how his alarm didn't go off.
I am fifty years old and cannot think of one time that an alarm clock set correctly didn't go off. I guess it happens to teens all the time. It must be some kind of meta physical force that detects a lazy teen who wants to sleep late and without any human involvement obliges automatically.
About this time the phone rang. I screen calls like I am working the phone lines for the White House but it popped up "Coweta County Schools" so I answered. The lady was very nice and said she was just wondering if Zach was sick? I told her HE was making me sick... but had over slept and would be there in ten minutes.
On the ride over he knew I was ticked. After my "You are eighteen years old..." speech I told him he needed to come straight home from school and bathe the dogs before he did ANYTHING else.
We got halfway to the CEC when the road sign said "One lane traffic ahead." We were about ten cars back and had to wait on the "Pilot" truck to finally come through, make it's SLOW turn around and lead us on at the amazing pace of 10 MPH.
When I dropped off Zach, like an idiot I took the same road back home. This time I was the first car in line when the Latino held up his stop sign on a long PVC pipe to tell me to stop and wait on the slug of a truck that would scream back down the road at 10 MPH.
As I sat in the front of the line I was struck by how many times he would look up at his sign to make sure he had the "Stop" side turned the right way. He would look up at it...look back at me...take a drag off his cigarette and look back up at his sign , I guess to see if he had inadvertently spun it around to the wrong side while exhaling. Cars behind me backed up...made 3/4 turns and went the other way. For Pete's sake! By the time you turn around and go back, take another road and detour... "Pepe" will be looking up to swing his "STOP" sign around to say "SLOWLY."
When I went into work at 5 , Pepe was still out there with his sign. Granted they were 1/2 a mile further down the road. I would go NUTS having that job. I would be handing out suckers or chatting up the crowd.
I told Zach we were leaving twenty minutes early in the morning for school.
Zach came home from school and bathed all three dogs...bitched the entire time and talked about what a persecuted life he led.
I came home from work tonight to three happy, clean pups and one ticked off 18 year old. Bless his heart, his life is so hard...cursed with an alarm clock that malfunctions on its own and a mother that demands he do something for her at least once a week. I may be convicted for child cruelty next week. At least Bishop Eddie Long seems to be currently in the que in front of me.
I didn't even get to see the end of "Cold Mountain!" If I had known Zach would oversleep I would had at least finished watching it. The things we do for our kids!
Homecoming parade tomorrow night in Senoia...big game on Friday (come buy a funnel cake from me) and a memorial for my cousin given by the film industry on Sunday.
My life may seem to be be in the crapper but at least it's never dull. In the crapper AND "dull" would be a terrible life to live.
Keeping the faith.
A former co worker of mine has an 18 month old daughter in the hospital recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor. THAT my friends, is a hard thing. My life is roses compared to so many others.
Please pray for Sunny Norman... a tot that doesn't even realize or know the concept of hardship or obstacles. She is a baby fighting for her life and doesn't even know it.
Once again I am reminded "I am blessed."
Tomorrow is another day if you are lucky, but always be grateful God gave you today.
Til next time (hopefully) COTTON
No comments:
Post a Comment