Light at the end of the tunnel?

Or ... Why do I bother?

For once I'm not stuck without a blog title, today's problem seems to be which of many do I choose?

Let's start with the Light at the end of the tunnel ... seems that Single Son got himself a GOOD JOB. Nice pay, bennies, long hours (he loves long hours). He's driving a delivery truck for FedEx now. Yup, same place that Married Son works. Just different routes. And more money than Married Son makes, too!! Married Son has a rural route, Single Son has a "city" route - less ground to cover, but way more stops daily. And, get this ... my mother is on Single Son's route. She's been warned to start using FedEx as much as possible. LOL.

So, where's the light at the end of the tunnel come into play? Looks like we'll finally be able to tell the Wrecking Crew that it's time to MOVE OUT! Well, soon ... after a few expenses have been met and we're able to survive on his pay.

Hopefully this summer!! In the meantime, I get to enjoy an empty house during the day when everyone is either working or in school.

And time to work at my new job ... lol ... I'm doing mystery shops again. Most of my "shops" are online or over the phone, thankfully. The few that are on-sight I'll have to arrange with Single Son to drop him off at work so I have the use of my car (or the van once it's back on the road). And I've been slowing selling more of Elsie's Attic stuff ... so I'm not exactly sitting idly at home.

for our next topic ...

why do I bother?

I think I may have blogged that Alien's stove died. I've spent the better half of the last five days arranging for a free stove to be delivered to her house today. TODAY. Only she decides that an afternoon with the bf's mother is more important. After I schedule with the lady who is so generous as to give away a perfectly good stove - and coordinate with my two sons to pick up and deliver (and sacrifice their precious time off to help their sister) ... and she goes to her bfs mother's house to get her nails done? My sons have the audacity to get mad at me, saying I can't plan squat ... Alien claims I never told her that it was TODAY (I did) ...

Screw it. Next time someone needs something and asks me to help, I'm saying "sorry, I can't help you and I don't know where you could turn to solve your problem" ... it's not worth all the hassle any more.

Not when I get treated like a third class citizen for my efforts.

Wedding Bands and Cemetery Plots

Mom called the other day (nothing new) but the topic of our conversation was a little odder than usual. A year ago Dad had to have his wedding band cut off him in the emergency room as it was cutting off the circulation to his finger. Fast forward to the day of the call ... Mom has finally taken the wedding band into the jeweler to be fixed. She's having the date of their wedding inscribed on the inside of the ring, and my initials on the outside. My initials? Yes, mine! She's decided that once Dad passes, the ring will be mine. I thought it should probably go to Brother Deere, as he is named after our father. Imagine my shock when Mom says "f* him!. I'm mad at him. He doesn't deserve it". Oh oh. Now what's he done to tick Mom off?

The same day that she went to the jeweler's, Mom went to the quarry to order the headstone for the family grave. All of our names (Mom, Dad, my two brothers and me) are being placed on the headstone for placement next month at the cemetery. In Michigan you can bury three cremations per plot. Mom has it set we're all to be cremated and buried in one of the two side-by-side plots we have. She was discussing it with Brother Deere when he tells her he's bought a plot near where he lives, he doesn't want to be buried in a family plot. She's so upset that she says he can bear the expense of having his name sandblasted off the headstone ... and he's not getting any family heirlooms as "punishment".

Like he really wants anything. He thinks my parent's possessions are nothing more than old junk (actually they are fine antiques) and that he'll auction off everything that I don't take. Realistically, if it were up to him, I probably wouldn't get anything. But that's another blog topic.

Same Ol' Same Ol'

Things with the DIL haven't changed a bit. She still ignores her dirty dishes (and when she does do their dishes she leaves mine and Single Sons - even if it's just one fork or dish - she won't touch 'em) ... leaves her dirty laundry in the bathroom for all to trip over - or hogs the machines with her laundry inside them ... bags the garbage but leaves the bags at the front door until I get ticked off enough to put them outside in the trash cans ... leaves her surplus food on the counter tops ... kicks her shoes off and leaves them laying in the middle of the floor for someone to trip over ... and that's just a small list of the things she does (or doesn't do) ...

Some things will never change. I'll be glad when I don't have to deal with it anymore.

She tells her friends that once she has a house where she can make the rules it'll be clean ... no ... once they have a house the messes will follow them (she'll never be a clean person, as the house they used to live in alone is testimony to) ... but MY house will be the way it's supposed to be - clean and organized. After all, the Wrecking Crew will be gone!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh ... dreams of the future ... gotta love 'em.