Grouchy Camper, Grouchy Counselor

Mom Camp is almost over. Summer school starts on Monday. That's a good thing because the camp counselor is getting quite grouchy, and the camper is becoming more difficult to please. When Maggie is out of school I lose the only time I have to myself. Maggie and I have fun together, but everything becomes more difficult and more time consuming. She's bored and I'm frazzled, which is always a very helpful combination.

Yesterday we did our gardening project and everything looks lovely. Maggie was really not that interested at all, though she did enjoy watering our newly planted flowers and herbs this morning. Here are two of the five containers we planted.

We then made a quick trip to the mall, Maggie's favorite place on earth. We were shopping for Grandpa who hit the big 8-0 yesterday. A helpful clerk took us all over the store looking for shorts with elastic in the waist that were not basketball shorts.   He seemed to forget that I was pushing a huge wheelchair as her darted through racks and narrow openings. Finally Maggie and I just stopped and stayed where he could see us so we didn't get stuck somewhere.

By the way, Maggie would like everyone to know that a trip to the men's department does not really count as a trip to the mall. She was quite peeved at me.

The nurse arrived but that doesn't really give me a break because she can't do anything on her own anymore. I had to fetch all the supplies downstairs, lift Maggie and help with all the procedures. I had to time things right so I could be gone for awhile as I wanted to go to dinner with Steve and his dad for his birthday.  Steve was already in the East Bay and was going straight to his dad's so I planned to take BART out there. Before I could do that, though, I to arrange for Tim to be around to help with the next set of procedures so I could go.

When the most relaxing part of your day is a commuter train ride out to the East Bay, it may be time for a break.

The three of us went to dinner and them came back to the house for cake and pie with Steve's cousin Jenny and her boyfriend Scott who live in the house with Grandpa Ed.  The rest of the family will celebrate this weekend at (yet another) graduation, and again in a few weeks at a family reunion; but we didn't want the actual birthday to slip by unnoticed. Ed enjoyed his day, which was the main goal.

Of course two of the three things I bought have to be returned, so Maggie gets another trip to the men's department. She's thrilled about that.

We are both ready for Summer school to start.

Changeable plans ahead!

My plan was to take Maggie on a Bay cruise today, but she's been a tad under the weather and I figured maybe rolling around on the Bay wasn't a great idea for someone with some intestinal problems. Besides, I'm not sure that's something I want to do without an extra pair of hands.

The weather looked fabulous this morning. The sky was blue and Maggie's room in the back (east side) of the house was warm and cozy. I dressed Maggie in her new halter top that we bought yesterday. She looked great. She thought it was hilarious when Dad came in and said, What are you wearing young lady? Where do you think you are, Las Vegas?"

Because of the lovely weather, Plan B was a walk along the promenade above Ocean Beach. There is a walkway that goes for about a mile or more and when it's nice it's a great place to walk. As we loaded into the car I realized it wasn't quite as warm as I thought.  We headed west for a couple of miles until we hit the beach. The wind seemed to pick up with every few blocks we traveled.  I parked, opened the door, lowed the lift and immediately closed it again. It was blowing so hard out there that sand was flying everywhere. Blowing sand is no fun for anyone, but especially not for someone with a trach. It was not exactly wheelchair friendly either; the walkway was covered with the blowing sand.
   

Time for Plan C. Maggie and I turned south and hit Home Depot in Daly City. We bought new shades for her room (she pulls and yanks on them and we have to replace them regularly) and we decided to starts a new project as well. We bought a bunch of plants, flowers, herbs, tomatoes, seeds and even some bulbs. Tomorrow morning we are going to plant them in containers on the deck so Maggie can be part of watering them and watching them grow.  Stay tuned to see if we actually get this project going.

Mom Camp goes Science!