We did so much Work organizing the Kitchen Cabinets and Pantry on Saturday, but, I never got out of my Jammies. I drove Princess T to Work in them and picked her up after Work in them. It was just easier to do the Work comfortably and the last Post showed how much we got done, it took 'til around 4:00 in the Afternoon before we finished. Everything was in Chaos for a while as we took everything out of every Cabinet and then put everything back, but more Orderly, after we cleaned the Cabinet Interiors first. When we get so much accomplished it feels good and makes Cooking easier coz now we know exactly where everything is and how much of it we have. Not much had to be discarded.
Having The Daughter here to Help me with Projects such as that is Priceless and she seems to enjoy doing it with me. Often she does stuff like that voluntarily and without me, but wanted me to delegate where everything should now go. We were laughing so hard our Sides hurt, becoz we delegated Space for certain things and then discover just how much of that Thing we had! Like Rice, OMG, I got enuf Rice for all of China... and all the Tea in China too!!! *LMAOROTF* Here's MORE Rice she'd say Laughing, and the Rice Shelf ended up being the Rice Cabinet in the end, and we had even more Rice on the Rolling Industrial Cart! *LOL* We do eat a lot of Rice, but, I'd gotten carried away clearly!
Mostly becoz, without Organization, sometimes you even forget what you have or where it is? Or it gets put everywhere instead of a specific Space, so surveying existing Inventory becomes difficult, if not impossible. I thought I was out of some things that I ended up having quite a lot of. I ended up thinking I had enough of some things I was about out of. Now, I can do a quick Inventory of what we Need and what we won't Need when I go shopping for Groceries. Along with knowing where everything specific is too. We'd cleaned the Two Main Fridges and Freezers out last Week and so now they're in Order too. Princess T does her own little Apartment sized Fridge in her Room that has a small Freezer.
The Son went Grocery Shopping after he got Over being Butt Hurt about what his Dad or his Sister probably ate that he'd bought for his Lunches. He had to confess I was Right, the Family can't know what's his unless he marks it and just assumes I bought it and it's Fair Game for anyone to have. If there's something Special that's Non-Perishable, don't even put it in the Common Area Kitchen, put it in your Room!!! He's thinking of purchasing a small Apartment sized Fridge like Princess T did, to put in his Room too. And he has Shelving in there too he can use as his own Private Pantry for Non-Perishables, then he'd be Golden with no more Fussing.
The Daughter is Cooking Dinner now and Mando had done all the rest of the Yardwork. Coz Irrigation comes just after Midnight and our Rotation is until about 1:45 a.m. Sunday Morning, so he'll just spend the Night with The Daughter in the 5th Wheel after they do that for us. He enjoys helping with Maintenance and joining us for Meals. Most of his Family Died during the Pandemic and he lost his Grown Son to a Fentanyl overdose, so, he really has no-one and kind of 'Adopted' us. He's being respectful now of asking if it's okay for him to come over and he is no longer having Arguments here with The Daughter, I asked them, as a Couple, to take any Couple Drama elsewhere and sort that shit out. *Winks* Oddly, now they don't Argue and Fuss anymore with that Rule in place! Go figure!!!
Mando said he saw that The Man and I never Fight or Fuss with each other and he'd never seen a Couple that always got along and didn't Fight or Argue. I told him it's not that we never have, but the Kids remember, Growing Up, both Generations we Raised, never saw us Fuss or Fight around or in front of them ever. We would go sit in the Car and have our disagreements Privately and out of Earshot of the Kiddos. We were a United Front in the presence of our Kids, it makes Parenting easier when you are a Team and not being divisive. Kids would otherwise Play one against the other. Anyway, The Man jokes with Mando that it would be too scary to pick a Fight with me. *LOL* Truth is, I don't like Arguments or Fights so I usually refuse to Engage in any.
Any time The Man is being unlovely or difficult, I just Calmly bring it to his Attention, tell him I don't appreciate it, that's Enough, and just Walk away. If I feel I'm going to be unlovely or difficult, I tell the Family I'm not in a Good Head Space, so need some Alone Time to get back to Center, so I don't project any of that Negative Energy upon anyone or lose my shit if provoked too much. Now, if someone is intent on starting something with me, being total Drama and a Headache, and is foolish enuf not to back off, Dial it back, or allow me to NOT Engage, then all Bets are Off and they will get Dark Dawn. I prefer not to unleash that Darker side of myself upon anyone, coz I can be vicious, but, if ya got it coming, I'll oblige, and we'll see what happens? *Winks*
I think it is much harder to diffuse Two or more other People in conflict becoz you only really have Control over yourself and your own Reactions to anything. It's up to them to have Control over themselves and have a Resolution they initiate first. Some folks are better at that than others, with Parenting, that was the toughest part for me, coz this Posse had a lot of Serious Mental Illness going on, which can make things complex and very unpredictable in Outcome. Now that The Man has TBI and the Dementia beginning, his reactions can also be very inconsistent now to almost anything or everything, especially after Sundown. But most days he would rather be Drama Free and just have his Routines and all the Kids try to help me create that Calm atmosphere for him and help take Care of him.
With the Adult Kiddos, of each Generation, I've made it Clear that Harmony in the Household is a high Priority and an absolute necessity. So, if you don't think you can get along and play well with others, then perhaps you Need to make other Arrangements to live somewhere else, coz this is a Full House filled with lots of Age Groups, Personalities and various serious Afflictions here. *LOL* I will help anyone Pack who Needs to leave becoz they aren't able to do their part to keep Harmony restored if it gets disrupted by them initiating Drama and Headaches or Conflict. Nobody HAS to be here except The Man and I. *Winks*
And of coarse I'm a Mama Bear when it comes to Protecting my Loved Ones, I will come out of the Bag on anyone messing with any of them. *Smiles* The Man and I stopped by that Circle K Convenience Store that the Kiosk malfunctioned that time I used it and spit Money out at me when I was using my Debit Card. Well, they had it Closed down, guess it was doing it often enuf they finally noticed?! *Ha ha ha* And that Lazy Clerk was having to Work and wait on Customers at the Register, coz they only had that one Robotic Kiosk, she was really Sour about it too. *LOL* I think Companies will find out these Robotics malfunction more than any Human ever could and they're not totally gonna be able to replace us becoz of it, they'll try tho'. Machines do a lot but someone has to be able to Repair the Machines when they go haywire like that one did. Seems they don't have the Staffing for all the Repairs needed either, they stay Closed and broke a long time.
I'm finding Old Images of "Tom Yum" Restaurant Food, which is making me miss it all the more. They're the one that was Locked Out of their own Restaurant by the Landlord last time we tried to Dine there. So, clearly there was either Nonpayment of Rent or a Rental Dispute going on between Landlord and Tenant. They'd just spent a small fortune on Remodeling the Interior and it was Beautiful, and they were always very busy, so it was a huge Surprise. Most Businesses aren't gonna spend all that Money on Rental Space to Remodel it and then not pay their Rent, or lose the Lease, unless something unforetold happened in the interim? And when I Googled it, one would think it's still Open for Business, usually when a place Closes permanently Google has that status. So, since it gives a Phone Number I might call it Today to see if anyone answers?
I got another 37 Year delayed Child Support Check from my Ex, who is The Son's Father, when he began Collecting Social Security I guess they garnish any Back Child Support Payments from it and he owes me 18 Years worth coz he never Paid any of it. Now The Son is almost 40 it's ironic to be getting the Back Child Support, but, better late than never. Same thing happened with The Daughter, her Father Collected Disability from Social Security at some point, and had it garnished for Child Support since he never paid any either and they discovered he'd Fathered an illegitimate Child. Imagine my Surprise to receive those Checks since I was never Married to him. But, he was on her Birth Certificate, so there was Record of him Fathering a Child and the Military knew too, when he was Active Duty, and his Family knew. He didn't make a Career of the Military tho'. Anyway, with my Ex-Husband, it's the 1980's Rate of $108 a Month, but, it's something. *LOL, as if $108 a Month ever Supported a Child even way back then!!! Eye Roll*
The Son was a bit Frosty about us joking of it, but like I told him, Listen, The Man and I Raised them ALL on OUR Dime, both Generations we have Raised, all Four of them. Three of the Biological Fathers never did a voluntary damned thing for them and their Support. Bobby is the only one that tried to pay Child Support and DES didn't even know how to process his Checks!!! So, instead, he and I worked something out so that if The Young Prince, or even Princess T, who wasn't his, Needed something, he'd Help to Buy whatever it was. So, it's about time we got a little somethin'-somethin' to offset what Legally was owed to us by the Men who Fathered Kids and then were too Deadbeat to Man Up and ensure they were properly receiving financial aide to help the Mother of their Child(ren). Deadbeat Dads often get away with NOT paying while the Child is in the most Need of the financial Help. And Single Unwed Mothers and Divorcees often live in Poverty if the Fathers of Children don't Care enuf about the Children they Fathered to do Right by them.
I was fortunate I was a Woman in the Eighties who was Financially Secure and had a Solid Career for all the Years I was a Single Parent and Raising them without any Help. Even before I met and Married The Man and he stepped up to Raise and Support Children he didn't even Father. So many Women aren't in that position and thus they struggle to Support their Children alone when a Man abandons the Family physically and financially. Anyway, I was just glad the disconnect was total and I never had to Deal with those Men that failed to contribute anything to the Welfare of their Children, Swipe fucking Left. So, getting any Support Payment was never an expectation, I knew how dismal The State of Arizona is about Collecting Back Support Payments. They couldn't even FIND my Ex-Husband when he was in Maximum Security Prison doing a 27 Year Stretch, I kid you not!!! I would tell them where he was and they'd still claim ignorance about doing their job well enuf to "Find" him somewhere he couldn't even leave! *LMAOROTF and Eye Roll*
And speaking of the Eighties, here's a Blast From the 80's Past of me and my Kiddos Three Days after I'd given Birth to The Son. That's why I'm sitting at a Tilt, I'd just given a Natural Birth to a Baby weighing over 10 and a Half Pounds, Ouch!!! The White Girl next to me with the Baby is my Brother's 1st Wife and their Son, who turned out very Fair like his Mama, and was Three Months Old in that Pix. She and my Brother were Teen Parents and the Marriage didn't last, they were too Young. Funny Story, my Son was as large as my Brother's 3 Month Old Son at Birth, The Son was like a Samoan Sized Baby at Birth. So, people would ask if they were Twins... and you can see their Shade difference in Complexion, so, along with the Age difference, we thought that was hilarious! *LOL* The Daughter in that Pix is Four, and she's on my Mom's lap. That Summer my Mom had gone to Cali on Vacation and come back with a Killer Tan, so she finally matched the Shade me and my Kids were Naturally. *Smiles* Mom was Naturally Fair, but she could Tan really Dark like an Indian and almost match our Dad's Swarthy Dark Complexion.
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A School Mug Shot Pix of my Brother, he Fathered his Oldest Son right out of High School and he and Teen 1st Wife Married after their Baby was Born coz she had a Prominent Family. Her Dad was an Admiral in the Navy and her Mom a University Professor, so, it was kind of a Shotgun Affair really and it didn't last. Her Parents tried to get me to Adopt her Son when he was 18 Months Old, tho' they blocked my Brother having anything to do with his Child. But I was already a Single Parent of Two Kids so I just couldn't take on another Baby only 3 Months Older than my own Son, it would have been like Raising Twin Boys. And in hindsight, I wish I could have and would have, so that my Brother would have had that Son in his Life and that Child would have known our Family. We had very little contact over the Years but we know he's Grown now and in the Navy like his Maternal Grandfather was, and being an Admiral's Grandson might have helped his Career??? So, I guess his Mom decided to Keep him after all, or the Grandparents Raised him, I dunno for sure?
My Brother finally had both of his Grown Sons contact and find him Years later, that's the Older Son now pictured Above as a Grown Man, looks rather like a Young Jean-Claude Van Damme. More out of Curiosity on their part, than to form a Relationship. He was Okay with that since they didn't really know him and their Moms had not been entirely Truthful about why he wasn't in their Lives. He saw no point in Mom Bashing about his Exes, he was imperfect too. Wife No. One was a Teen Mom and Teen Bride, he was a Teen Dad and Husband too, it was understandable that didn't last. But, she could have solicited his Help, but her Family didn't want her to have any contact after their Divorce and he Honored that and their desire for him not to have contact with his Child. Of coarse his Son was given a different Version of that Truth, so my Brother didn't try to dispute it and cause Family Friction for the Kiddo, no Point. Both Sons seemed to have turned out Well and into Fine Young Men, and that's all that counted.
His 2nd Wife ran off with someone else that she later Married and they Raised his Younger Son together. She had an Older Son by a previous Relationship and kinda had a Track Record of switching Baby Daddy's it seems. Her Parents were Raising her Older Son, but the Guy she ran off with No. 3, was a Doctor or something... my Brother was only a Hollywood Photographer, so I guess the other Guy made even more Money??? *LOL* Above is their Son, who is a Fairer version of my Dad, they look SOOO much alike it's eerie. If my Dad were White, now I know he'd of looked like my Brother's Youngest Son as a White Man. *Ha ha ha* He even STANDS like my Dad!!! {See Below}
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Happy Summer Vibes to you my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian
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