Curiouser and Curiouser

That total fox in the pictures is my mom, who is about 55 and still looks like that. Not the best photos, but still.

Just felt I had to back up the claims that I constantly make. =)

Got a call from my mother today after teaching class RE a death in the family.

I will probably be out of commission Monday night and most of Tuesday, as the latter is the wake.

If you're waiting on something from me or need me for something, best to let me know tonight or early tomorrow so I can take care of it then and have the time and energy for my family later.

So, elenuial's little brother is coming to town Thursday night, and none of the apartment's occupants have done any spring cleaning. It's August.

This has given me sufficient motivation to nigh-gut my apartment sans N and K's rooms. And while I'm cleaning, I may as well do a little redecorating that I've been meaning to get around to!

So far, I have:
_cleaned kitchen
-added curtains to windows
-scrubbed stove
-reorganized spices
_cleaned pantry
-took everything off counters and scrubbed
-organized shelves
-did dishes
-mopped floor
-went grocery shopping
_cleaned bathroom
-replaced shower curtain
-beaten rugs
-scrubbed sink, tub, toilet
-replaced towels

And that was all yesterday after working 7-3. Dinner was in there somewhere.

Today, I will:
_clean bedroom
-rearrange furniture in a way that makes more functional and aesthetic sense
-tidy clothes
-hang stuff from ceiling
-do laundry
_clean kitchen pt 2
-sweep/mop floor
-go through fridge
-do more dishes
_clean living room
-hear back about shelf idea, maybe? Waiting for Don on that one
-tidy up games
-clean up clothes
-organize shoes

...and shower and eat somewhere in there. At 6:30, I'll be headed to work until 9:30, when I'll come home, eat dinner, sleep, then get up at 6am to work 7-3 and come home to another to-do list. The office is elenuial's job, seeing as if I clean his workspace, he won't be able to find anything ever again.

I feel so productive. Worn out, but productive. Cleaning is rewarding for me. =)

Setting: I'm at my mother's office for the day, and have agreed to decorate greeting cards, clocks, and other office staples with acrylic paint. I have since gotten creative.

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M: (walks in) Now you're painting the screwdriver?
H: It has a point!
M: Right.

-three minutes later, in her waiting room, in front of clients-

H: (bursting in)Ha!
M: (stares)
H: Look! (shows card) Screwdriver art!
M: (stares)
H: You paint the ridges, and then you roll it!
M: (stares)
H: (throws hands in air) Applaud my genius!
M: (stares) (turns away)
H: Or ignore it, that works too.
M: (to the group) My daughter.
All: Ohhhhh. (implied: "that explains it")
H: Thanks.

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This is pretty much how we roll.

-H

Our parents just met for the first time.

My father, being awesome, was chosen to have a feature in the Whole Foods may/june booklet. =) Here's part of the article and his little side-blurb.

( Scanned for your viewing pleasure. )

papa = made of win.

I may have to make my way to the nearest Whole Foods and pick up a few copies to mat or something.

-h

My aunt Suzanne passed away yesterday evening.

I will most likely be spending a few days in RI to support my mother and family, and this may mean less internet activity for a while.

Lunacon post to come.

-Haz

The good:
PetSmart (shoppes at Blackstone Valley) called today and offered me the job(s). So, starting Friday, I'm a Pet Care specialist. As soon as I take the instructor orientation/lessons, I'll be teaching their dog training classes as well. I get above the starting pay, even though I'm just starting, because they wanted to ensure that I came on board, and they also apologized for finalizing it so late - there was trouble with their computer system and they had to call corporate to verify me. Even so, they held off and offered me the position rather than turning to other applicants.
This was a huge confidence booster, as not only was this my first time going through the job application process on my own (before, I either worked as a favor to someone shorthanded or was given a job on the spot at Christo's), but I beat out every other applicant and was hired for two positions at the store. Needless to say, I was happy.
The managers are exceptionally nice, and were very excited to hear that I accepted the job. It's a good feeling when someone says that they can't wait for you to start working and see what you can do - even when it's something as simple as companion animal care.
I'm also doubly excited for the dog training coach job - I get to teach classes! With dogs! They've mentioned that I'll probably be teaching the puppy classes, which is great, else I'll spend my time working with the small mammals, reptiles, and birds. I'm so looking forward to work.
I also got to introduce elenuial to Blazing Saddles as our Intercon Wind-Down movie, which has always been a favorite of mine. It broke him in places and lagged for him in others, but overall, he seemed to really enjoy it and remarked on the style of an early Mel Brooks.
.
The bad:
My aunt is dying. The Friday of Intercon, I got a call from my cousin Whitney (the one who seems more like a sister) saying that my third-eldest aunt on my mother's side, Suzanne, was stopping treatment. She's had multiple cancers, and has said many times that she's "had it." She was given an estimate of a month remaining, and was thrown a short farewell party on Sunday. Saturday night seemed to be the more emotional one, from what I heard, where a lot of the grief came to the forefront. She's been battling cancer for years, but now there's a time limit and it's shorter than anyone expected.
This is especially hard on my mother. She's eighth born of eleven, and Suzanne is the first of her siblings to face death. Virginia (the second eldest girl) came close a few years ago, but checked into rehab and moved to a quieter place. However, my smoking-but-otherwise-completely-healthy mother has been, as per usual, taking the mediating job herself. Suzanne's daughter (we call her Little Virginia to differentiate cousin from aunt), has been a wreck. We also call her Virginia the Miserable, because she (quite frankly, though I hate to speak ill of suffering family) has never been happy. Nothing is ever her fault, and the world revolves around her, including her mother's death. She is grossly overweight, cruel, and spoiled, and has been harping on her mother like she was the one dying.
As I was talking with my mother over the phone tonight, I expressed my thought that the last thing someone who has accepted death needs is someone constantly smothering you and bawling every minute. It undermines her strength, and to spend time panicking rather than enjoying the time left is something easily regrettable later on. My mother agreed, and will be spending Wednesday with my aunt, labeling little crystals with the names of those Suzanne wants them to go to as mementos. I'm very proud of my mother for this; she has a tendency to collapse under the weight of her own emotions.
Although she has started her typical way of dealing. When I talked to my father this afternoon ("Dad! I got a job!" "Wow. Didn't know they had strip clubs in Worcester."), I asked how she was, and he simply replied: "Guess."
She's thrown herself into her work, as per usual, and I'm fully expecting a breakdown when she crashes against a wall sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll try to slow her down and help her process everything threatening to ruin her composure, and then plan to come home as often as needed. I'll be going home on Sunday to cook for her and keep her company, as well as make a day to visit Suzanne.
Though the thought of it disturbs me on a level I'm not quite sure how to describe, I'm keeping my calendar clear after Lunacon. This probably means no Yale Tango Fest, as it's on the weekend that marks the end of my aunt's life expectancy. When the inevitable happens, I want to be able to drop everything and go back home to the family, like a good daughter and a good niece should.
I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I have a hunch that it'll hit me like a punch in the face one day, but until then, I seem to be cruising.
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To my newly-added friends, I'm sorry for the depressing post! I've just been meaning to talk about it for a while and type best while elenuial games in the background. I'm usually much more chipper, I promise.

-Haz