Keeping up

Mama did okay her first day on her own. I went home on my lunch break and ate a quick meal with her. By the time I got ready to head back to work, she was ready to go to bed for the afternoon. That worked out pretty well for both of us. When I got home after work, I saw the bedroom door open, so I knew she was up. When I go to the bedroom door I saw her sitting in my desk chair leaning forward on the walker; lost in thought. My greeting startled her so badly I got soundly scolded. You know Mama. She got over it almost as fast as the fright passed and I got my usual “welcome home” kisses. I could tell she was hurting. I could also tell there was something else bothering her. She told me later that the meds were affecting her. She was having bad dreams. Seeing things that were not there. Catching glimpses of people who could not possibly have been in the room with her. It is clearly time for a change in prescriptions.

I fixed myself some soup, quickly tended to the animals and shaved and showered to go to a viewing for the family of a friend of ours at church who died on Sunday morning. It was one of those expectedly unexpected deaths. Walt was in his mid-eighties, failing health, asthmatic. But he was faithful to church. I had talked to him, as I did every week, Sunday a week ago. He went into the hospital Monday of last week and had a rough week of better and not better days until Sunday morning. Now he really is better. It was not a somber gathering at the funeral home. What a hope we have! I only stayed for about a half hour before going to the office to work on a list for the auction coming up next Tuesday.

As I worked through the list I have to admit to being a bit discouraged. Since Mama and I went to the auction in Oklahoma, it has been obvious that there is a serious competition for the houses available on these lists. With the current level of competition, Mama and I are at a slight disadvantage financially. Don’t get me wrong. We have enough money if we can end up at the right auction. I am not sure if the one coming up is the right one. I will finish my research on the list tonight and make a decision whether or not to take the vacation days from work to attend this one – or wait for another. With limited vacation time, I can only attend one more auction this year. I need to be pretty confident about the chances of getting a property to bet it all on this auction. I am not there yet. Besides, I want Mama and I to be a team at these auctions. We do better when we are together and right now, that is not an option.

When I did get home – a little after 9 pm – I went out to close up the chickens. My normal nightly routine. It was only then that I realized I had not taken the time to water the vegetable plants in the garden. It was late. I was tired. I let it go. I have a soaker hose on part of the garden and it had run the entire time I was in town, so that part of the garden will be okay. I will see tonight if any of the plants I normally water nightly survived. I am not optimistic, but if they did, I will pick up tonight where I left off - when I get home from my extra time at the office. Tomorrow, the 4^th of July, is a work holiday for us. If I still have live plants remote from the soaker hoses, I will transplant them to benefit from the soaker hoses. It will seriously crowd things, but if we can help them survive and produce, it will be worth it.

I still have to water the fruit trees, berry bushes, the grape vine, and the flower beds. It is becoming a challenge to keep up as Mama recuperates.

Brittany, Andrew and the twins will be here tomorrow. That should be fun.