THE ONGOING SAGA OF THE HAPPILY CONFUSED

I can't believe it has been four months since I posted.  I decided yesterday when we went to the family reunion and several people asked me why I wasn't posting anymore it was time to get with it.  Actually one of my problems was a sticky virus.  Whenever I have problems what does Richard say??? "I told you to buy a MAC!"  Smart aleck.

I spent two hours a couple of days ago on a blog.  I was so excited to just post it today and I deleted the wrong draft.  I have to start all over.  Dang I hate it when that happens!

My children have heard my funny stories I will put on this post so sorry kids--I will go to dinner tonight and there will be some new ones I am sure!

So a couple of months ago I noticed this 91 year old spry young lady and a very spry 86 year old man were taking walks together every day.  One day I said to her, "Doris are you and Joe an item?"  She looked at me and said, "Oh I wish!!!"  A week later she came in the office, sat down and said, "You know Sharon the other day you asked me if Joe and I were an item.  Well guess what.  I think we are.  He invited me to go to his daughter's place for the weekend!"  Monday morning comes and here comes Doris to the office again.  She sits down in the chair by my desk and says, "Guess what!  Joe and I ARE an item!"  I am a 91-year-old who feels like a 19-year-old school girl in love again!"

Two days later here comes Doris again.  She comes in the office once more, sits in the chair by my desk, clears her throat and says, "Uhmm I need to know how we work this.  Joe moved in with me last night;  Would it be best to just keep all the rent under my name or can we split half?"  We talked about that and then she said, "Now Sharon don't forget to get Joe's name plate off his door and figure out a way to post it right above my name plate on the apartment door."  I was cracking up.  She reminded me at least twice more to move his name plate above her name on her door.

Last month we had our 17-year-old granddaughter, Chelsi, come stay with us for two weeks.  She has a personality so much like her Aunt Nalani and gets along with everyone.  When the normal person was ill and couldn't call BINGO (a MORE than sacred game around here) the residents thought she was absolutely more than cool.  She also served meals and was excellent.  Ever since she went home they have asked when she is coming back.  I really give her credit.  She said she probably could stay but since her parents were getting a divorce she felt the need to go home and take care of her 9-yeaar-old brother.  I  was sad to lose her but proud that a 17-year-old would make that decision.  We hope she comes and spends all summer with us next summer.

This month Chelsi's 16-year-old brother, Austing came to hep the maintenance man catch up.  After all his Grandpa has only been teaching him that stuff since he was about 8 years old!  He has not only done that but we tease him about being our "gopher."  Like today, Richard and I always do coffee pours together but we had a woman here doing an annual inspection and you know they always choose to come at the most convenient times--right during meal time.  Somebody was supposed to help me but they didn't show up so as I was beginning to panic who do I see Austin at the end of the hall?  There was suddenly a cry heard round the land--"A-U-S-T-I-N--HELP!!"  He wasn't even changed out of his maintenance clothese and he didn't even hesitate.  He had never poured coffee or did the whole tea thing and he jumped right in and learned.  I still remember how nervous I was the first time I did it.  I was sure I would dump coffee in somebody's lap.  My arms were weak and shaky.  I can happily report today I have developed muscles in my arms and when I do the old lady wave there is much less that moves after I stop waving.  See there are blessings in all things.

I have to tell one more thing on my grandkids.  I remember my Mom would say when the girls got older and we did everything together with out husbands, "There is no greater joy than for a Mother that sees her grown children not only liking each other but preferring to do things together.   Now I get it.  Somebody asked Austin the other day if he was Chelsi's little brother.  He said yes he was.  They commented on what a good girl she was and he said, "Yep!  She's a cutie for sure!"  My heart almost melted in to a pool at my feet at that moment.  Now I get you Mom.

So some of the funnnies since the last time I wrote.  My kids have heard these so you can skip them kids if you want.  We have a resident that sits at the table next to ours.  She is let's say a little unpredictable.  One minute she is sweet and happy and the next minute she's mad because she didn't get her way.  We had Sticky Buns as the second dessert of the day.  The residents love Sticky Buns but there isn't always enought to go around if it is the second day we have served them and they are thus the "second" dessert of the day.  So little teenage server pushes her cart to Ann's table and asked her if she wanted a Sticky Bun.  She reported she not only wanted one but she wanted two Sticky Buns.  Little timid teenage server says to her, "You can't have two until we make sure everybody has had a chance for Ann says in a louder voice she wants two Sticky Buns.  Timis little teenage server again tells her she can only have one.  Now Ann is majorly ticked.  She yells in her loudest voice, "I NEED TWO STICKY BUNS!  I AM A HEART PATIENT.!  Timid little teenage server rolls her cart past me and says in quiet voice, "I am pretty sure she shouldn't even have one should she?"  I  had to go in the back of the kitchen so I could laugh without the residents hearing me.  REALLY????  You are a heart patient so you have to have two.  Not only that she was so mad she couldn't have two she whips her mobey around and starts crying and goes back to her apartment.

Then we have Freda who is stone deaf but has a keen sense of humor.  The servers have to get down in her right ear and yell what her choices are for the meal.  Of course she doesn't get it the first time and this process repeats about 3 times.  Then she says, "Well wait a minute.  My table mates just told me I already ate.  They try to convince her they didn't say that but she is convinced they did and then we have to coax her into eating.  Every day--same ting, same ting--over and over.

One day Freda went to the bathroom--maybe 15 steps away.  She came out and couldn't remember where to go to get back to her table.  Now keep in mind she eats at the same table every single day.  Nevertheless, poor Freda can't find the 15 steps back to her chair.  Not to fear though!  Annie will take care of her.  She whips her mobey around goes over and flips it around so the back is towards Freda then yells, "Hang on Freda!"  Freda grabs hold of the back of Annie's mobey then yells, "Okay, let's roll!!!"

We also have very sweet Louise.  Louise has three cats even though she lives on the third floor and she cannot bend over to change the litter box.  I feel really sorry for the housekeeper who has to clean her apartment.  She also has decided that bathing even once a week is not necessary and she only needs to use one Depends a day.  It's not bad in the morning but boy by night even though she is as sweet as can be nobody wants to sit by her at BINGO."  Guess who gets to talk to her about it?  You guessed it, "Your truly!"  And what to say.  Do I say, "Louise have you seen that baby commercial where the baby is crawling around on the floor and his diaper is leaking?  Yea well so is yours!"  And by the way you need to have a total stranger come in to your apartment and let them bathe you at least twice a week.  This is so very hard for this generation of women who have been so private their whole lives and now you are telling them they have to take all their clothes off in front of a stranger and let them was all body parts.  You know I still remember going through this with my Mom and she was the most modest person who ever lived but as time went on she became very comfortable with it and it was a comfort to our family to now she was clean.  Nobody ever really told us our parents would live long enough to give us a hard time before they passed away even if that was not their intention.

The other day one of the sweetest guys in our community came in to get his mail.  He had on a nice plaid shirt, shorts, then black dress socks and black dress shoes.  He and his wife kind of give me a fun hard time so I went up to him and said, "Oh no, no, no Bud!  Do you want to be an old man or a hip senior citizen.  Hip senior citizens wear sandles with shorts like those--and maybe, just maybe you might be able to get buy with whit athletic socks with sandles."  Now keep in mind our kids always gave their Dad a bad time about that.  But this guy looked at me like I was from Mars.  "He said, "Really????  I never knew that."   Oh WOW--major case of foot in mouth disease!

I talked to Kami the beginning of this week and all their stuff arrived at their home that had been in crates in storagee for two hot steamy months this summer before it was delivered to their new home.  And once again we had a Hawaii experience.  It was all full of mold and mildew and Kami is 6 months pregnant with her 3rd boy.  Those are the times you realize it is hard to be a working Mom.  Can't help because I am too hard away and I am saving my vacation for the birth of the baby.  Her Dad told her not to touch it but make the moving company come back and clean everything.  That's a little scary with a pregnant Mom, two little boys and Dad who is gone quite abit.  I'm sure she will be fine.  I justtold her to remember to be firm and ornery if necessary.

One of the things that every Holiday Retirement Center has is a"Wall of Honor" for their veterans or veterans of widows who live here.  When I first got here I looked at the one they had and it was pathetic.  They had cheap frames that were falling off the wall and it looked like they had put it up with as little effort as necessary.  So one night I got on a kick and pulled all the photos off the wall, took all the photos out of the frames, threw the frames away, and then I was committed.  I thought it would ohnly take me two weeks to finish but instead it took  2 1/2 months.  It was truly a labor of love.  The night before the big unveiling we were up until 1 a.m. finishing it.  The mayor of Billings came to dedicate it and I have to admit we were pretty proud.  When people saw it many of them cried.  If you would like to see our dedication it is on YOU TUBE just put in

"HONOR WALL AT ASPEN VIEW"

I hope you like it because it truly was a labor of love of one of the accomplishments I will always be most proud of when I think of my day as Aspen View.  I also want to dedicate it in part to our son-in-law Ben, who is a military man.  I thought of you the whole time I was doing this Ben.  I hope you are proud.

Love you all,
Sharon