The Universe is a Mean Spirited Bitch….

Hello dearest minions…how is your summer? Mine has been full of rejection. I’ve been sending the same two stories out all summer with tweaks in between and it has been one rejection after another. I’m hoping that I’ve finally found a perfect home for one of them. I’ve had another non-fiction gig thrown my way, so if I can somehow milk it for 1500 words, I’ll be good.
It’s been a weird summer and right now I am feeling very wary of the universe and it’s awful sense of humour. Wee Geek moved back home at the end of June. Mostly out of necessity. He wants to get some of his finances back under control and this seems like the only route. He hasn’t had much luck finding a job, yet, but I keep telling him to just keep throwing things out there. He’s had 2 out of 3 interviews with one place. Although it’s not what he wants, it is a job. His mental state seems to be much better and that is the bonus plan.
It also has been a summer of weird connections. My brother and his family met at my mom’s lake house for the holiday over the 4th and we had a good time! It’s amazing to me how we have divided my dad’s ailments between us. I get psoriasis and bad eyes with a side order of rheumatoid arthritis and he got high blood pressure. Bizarre how life goes, isn’t it? We definitely are related, however. Interesting. He’s made an effort to connect with me. I sent him links to my writing stuff and the podcasts.
I’ve been sending out applications like crazy for teaching jobs and had a couple of interviews. I know that I don’t fit where I’m at and I need to find that place again. I do not like being miserable at my job. It sucks. As someone on the spectrum, I am well versed in the art of not fitting in. I’m kinna an expert. I don’t like it. I miss having co workers that I feel like really care about me. I just always feel on the fringes with this job. Not what I want.
Last thing. This is the part with the universe’s sick and twisted sense of humour. Some of you may or may not know that my granddad had a stroke back in 2008. He now has a vocabulary of about 25 words and 6 pretty distinct phrases. These include the ever not popular with my aunt “You don’t know nothing!”, “boy”, “I die”, “Take care”, “Mom”, “Go”, “Right now” and various parts of Happy Birthday, The Star Spangled Banner, and I think Amazing Grace. None of which come at an opportune time. We’ve had some funny moments with this. It’s very difficult and frustrating to communicate with him, but we do our best. He has a little flip book with words and phrases that he needs. We draw lots of bad pictures and point to lots of things that are not what he’s talking about at all. I know it must be frustrating for Grampa. His brain tells him that he’s saying the right thing and it’s almost as if he doesn’t understand that we can’t understand him.
So, Grampa had his knee replaced the other day. Wee Geek and I went over to see him yesterday. He was having some issues with stuff in his lungs, but he was in good spirits. And then the 40 minute misunderstanding and charades game was frustrating. He kept telling us that it was rectangular with sections and there was something round. And then he pointed to his mouth. So we’re thinking he wants food. No. We’re thinking he wants pain meds. He took the meds, but that wasn’t it. Finally, his girlfriend took his teeth out and we figured out that he had something under his dentures. Do you know that I had never seen my granddad without his teeth in? Never. So after we figured that out, it was much smoother. Before we left, he told me several times to take care of Wee Geek.
Dearest Husband had been in Indy working on daughter’s new house, so we met at Applebee’s because everyone was starved. As we were all starving. I walk up and see my two great aunts eating. I can literally count on no hands how many times I have ever run into my great aunts outside of a family function. NEVER. So I enjoyed it at the time, but in the light of my dad’s message this morning, it all became ever so ominous. So, the message came this morning that Grandad had a heart attack. Tonight I find out that the prognosis is ever so much worse. So, universe, you are a very sick humoured bitch.
I am flooded tonight with things that I want to say, but don’t know how. How can my life be so fucking ironic?
My granddad has always been a kind hearted, gentle and soft spoken man. He is a huge flirt. Last night he wanted his camera so he could take pictures of his nurses. He is terribly ornery. He loves a great joke and a better prank. He is a giving man who will give you his heart. You always feel loved when you are with him. I never thought he would make it after my grandmother died. But he did. We rallied around him and supported him. He bounced back. Even after the stroke, he kept his sense of humour. He continued to try and he was patient. We tested his patience and got a lot of “you don’t know nothings” but we got through it.
And now for something completely different! I get to see my lads play in Chicago the day after my 45th birthday. We have tickets to see Liverpool! Yes!