Keeping You Posted

Just passing through to jot down some things that have been going on in the past few days:

Thursday evening: We incorporated. At least, we filed the paperwork. Waiting for confirmation that it's official. The motivation for this? I forget what gave us the idea originally, but this time it was for the purpose of applying for a small business loan to buy that game store. Oh sure, it could happen. And what if it did? Not going to go there right now. Moving on...

Friday: I heard from an employment agency that wanted to recommend me for a tech writer position in town. Good pay, full time, benefits of some sort, sounded good... but when I couldn't master the pain enough to drive 4 miles to fill out the application paperwork, I (finally) came to the realization: I'm not capable of working a full-time job anymore.

So I sat down with The Man (TM) and talked over the ramifications. Not only am I not going to be bringing home much bacon anymore (I did file for disability and am waiting to see how that turns out), but I'm not going to be able to spend 3+ hours driving people hither and yon every day. I might not be able to drive at all, depending on the medication situation. We were already facing a big conflict between TM's school schedule and the kids' schedule-- the kids were 7:45 to 2:45 and TM was more like 11 to 6.

We talked over the situation and I think I managed to get him to realize there was a problem. Unfortunately, we didn't get any closer to a solution. He swears he can't change any of his classes (so who was going to run the store?), and we can't just keep our kids home so that TM can go to college. Bother.

Saturday: We were going to have Captain Kid's birthday party Saturday afternoon, but about a week ahead of time (just before we invited his friends), I discovered an invitation from one of them to his party, the very same time on the very same day, same general location and same invitees. And of course, he'd sent invitations earlier. So, we talked it over and Captain Kid decided that he'd like to go to his friend's party and get together with his best girl for ice cream sometime soon.

So he went to the party and had a good time. His best girl was there, as were some other friends from kindergarten. TM went and hung out with the other parents, where he discovered that our boy is at the center of a minor soap opera. Apparently, one of the other girls from his class had told little Abby to leave Captain Kid alone because she (a fiery redhead) wanted him. After some consideration, Abby decided to stand by her man. The redhead's going to have to look elsewhere for a boyfriend. Captain Kid, of course, was totally puzzled by the entire episode. I see interesting times ahead.

Sunday: Captain Kid's 6th birthday! We celebrated with boatloads of pirate loot again, another treasure island cake, pirate figures, plunder for him to share with the crew, and so forth. His great-grandma gave him the best present of all: a treasure chest with all sorts of good stuff in it, and he is just deliriously happy with that.

Sunday evening, we watched the broadcast commemorating the handcart pioneers. It was really neat, all the more so because we got to see the little pirates' aunt Dorothy and her beloved husband, His Worship, singing in the choir. I thought just for a moment or two I could hear her voice among the others-- but only because I know it so well, so don't worry, girl.

Later, my mom called to say Happy Birthday to Captain Kid, who babbled excitedly at her about all the great things that were part of his day. He had to tell her all the pirate nicknames of our family, during which his little brother corrected him on one point: "I'm not Blackbeard, I'm Marquis Montalban!" She was so tickled, she asked for pirate nicknames for her and my dad. After some consideration, the kids dubbed them Stede Bonnet and Jean Lafitte. Respectively.

Monday: TM started his second summer class today. I did a brief editing project for my friend Kelli the ice-cream queen. (She owns the shop down our street. I suspect she picked that spot just because she knows how much I love ice cream.) I spent a couple of hours semi-conscious from the pain and exhaustion when I was supposed to be taking care of the kids. (They oughta revoke my mothering license.) Fortunately, they were good most of the time, playing (pseudo) Lego pirates joyfully and energetically.

This afternoon, another shipment of loot arrived for the kids. Now Captain Kid has a singing sword and Marquis Montalban is plotting to steal it. I sense more adventures on the horizon...