Thursday, October 11, 2018

The ship of state remains afloat

I learned how to use Google calendar. Really use it, on the spot, at the end of my fat finger. I can stand in front of the reception desk like any millennial and tap the phone screen into oblivion until the calendar bends to my will. Then I put the phone back in my pocket, the cane in my left hand, smile, thank the appointment giver and move away.

Laura has to next February to complete twenty four hours of community service, but what with ten days on her hands and the food bank twenty minutes away, I think that requirement may be completed in time for the expulsion hearing on Monday.

Last weekend Laura went out in the country to help a friend wind down the garden. There were potatoes to dig and kale and chard to harvest. Yum, yum. Community service that would have happened, irregardless.



But, what with the food bank twenty minutes away, I find I am slotting the rest of my life between waves. There's only one car to be had, you know, and I'm not about to be doing double driving getting Laura from one place to another.

As I've said to friends who question me, No, I have not punished her. She's sixteen, and apparently enough an adult to be considered one. I find I still tell her what lane she will need to use when she drives to the therapist, for instance. "When you go, just stay in the right lane. When you turn in, look very, very carefully to be sure there is no more traffic coming up the hill. When you leave..." 

That's surely punishment enough. When she comes home, she grins and says she used all the correct lanes.

I've had to slot in doctor visits (pre-admission testing), flu shots tomorrow, and a visit to the vet today. Poor Toby has been mizerable beyond belief, sulking, scratching his hair into great clumps on the floor.



He has an infection in each ear, which is a repeat of a couple of years ago, and, for the first time since he moved here, fleas. Such ignominy, the vet combing him and finding, for the first time in four years, flea poop! Adding insult to injury (no offense, Jan), he probably brought home the fleas from boarding with that dog, Jake, at Aunt Jan's house. Waiting his turn to see the vet today, Jake came bounding in,  wiggles and barks when he recognized Laura and Toby. Toby cannot face it, yet.

That's all the news that's fit to print. Just one day at a time, packing in community service hours and approaching the hearing Monday, at one. Three hours of packing food tomorrow, then Saturday is passing out water to runners in one of the marathons through the park. Fresh air!

22 comments:

  1. I, too , am dealing with fleas (well, not me, but our cats). It's the time of year, but mine are both outdoor cats, so they can contract fleas in a number of ways. Laura could have committed far worse offenses! -Jenn

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  2. You punishing Laura would have been overkill. Her punishment is severe enough and you supported it. As long as she has learned what she needs to learn that is the end of it. Poor Toby. Fleas are not much fun.

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  3. May all be well for Laura (and Toby) and you....Sending good vibes.

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  4. Emma is correct. Your silence and quiet eye reproach is enough.

    Scuba had fleas. Neighborhood feral cat spread them liberally. Pest control nailed them.

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  5. Hari Om
    ditto what Thickethouse said... YAM xx

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  6. Poor Toby. Fortunately the treatment for fleas is much easier these days than it used to be. Long ago when one of our cats brought home fleas, we had to bathe him and our other cat (what fun!) and spray the whole house, twice. And then vacuum every day for the life cycle of a flea -- 10 days? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? whatever it was, it was way too much vacuuming!

    I hope you're all in a better place in life soon.

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  7. Poor Toby. My Lola is also scratching out chunks of hair and creating great raw spots, she has hayfever and other allergies and this year has been really bad for the local animals. A cortisone injection has her much more comfortable now.
    Good luck with the expulsion meeting, fingers crossed they'll have a change of heart and allow Laura back in school.

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  8. The expulsion hearing may result in Laura staying in school? Is that right? I hope all goes well for her.

    Poor kitty. I hope Toby heals well.

    Enjoy being runner support at the weekend! Fresh air!

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  9. She has obviously "learnt her lesson", which is what head teachers always want and nothing useful would be achieved by further disrupting her schoolwork.

    I'll join everyone in keeping my fingers crossed and sending good vibes.

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  10. That is the most forlorn cat I have ever seen. I feel his depression.

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  11. Aw. Poor Toby. What is the purple produce in your photo? Purple mashed potatoes?

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  12. I hope Laura has seen the error of her actions and can move on from this. Poor Kitty. My herd is not exposed to other animals, and are indoor critters, so I sure hope none of them get the scratchies. I have some of that strong flea medication for the dog, but it's so toxic. I really hesitate to use it.

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  13. no need for you to punish her when the school and the law are already doing it. what she needs from home is support to get her through this which you already know. purple potatoes and dark green kale(?). looks good enough to eat!

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  14. Congrats on learning Google calendar. You are a better woman than me.

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  15. So sorry about Toby's ear infection and the fleas. Our inside cats get them on occasion too - I imagine DH brings them in on his clothes from the outside ferals. They're pretty easily treated these days with Revolution (or one of those products). We use the diatomaceous earth on the grounds outside to try to help the feral cats. And I guess I missed something as I'm not sure what Laura is having to do community service for...

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  16. Love to both you and to Laura - she is facing it and you are there for her support and that is as it should be.

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  17. I am using Calendar on my phone too. I am feeling good about it. I know what you mean.

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  18. I have never learned to use Google calendar. I keep being told it will make my life easier. I wonder how I have managed so far!

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