When I was young and planning my retirement, I always imagined spending my golden years in a tranquil setting free of stress, problems and obligations. I worked in the oil patch for 25 years in Houston, Texas. Three of those years were for a major oil conglomerate and twenty-two for another.
When I say I worked...I mean I WORKED! I have never known what it is like to work a 40 hour workweek. That is because in those 25 years, my average week ranged from 60 to 80 plus hours. NO...I am not complaining, as I was young, mentally tough and could handle it. The overtime was great and I was able to pay off my mortgage early and retire at a relative young age.
What I never knew was how hard retirement was going to be. I am not really retired, as I work 24 hours a day, seven days a week taking care of my mother The month of October is super busy for me to begin with but with both of us being sick, it was a duzzy. Now add to that three strays and that the female stray just had five puppies!!!!
It was bad enough having three grown dogs jumping at me as soon as I got off the car...now I have five puppies biting at my pant leg as soon as we get in from wherever at whatever time we get home...talk about stress!
I have pictures and the complete story on Walter's blog...click on the header picture if you care to read about it.
Last Thursday we went to see the Uvalde doctor. Appointment time was 2:00 p.m. we got to see the doctor at 5:35 p.m. which is about average. For a while I thought perhaps he had forgotten about us and gone home, as I could not hear any noise...Mom is usually his last patient.
I had all this scenarios in my head as to whom I was going to call to open up the door and let us out. Surprise! When we left at 6:00 p.m. he still had a waiting room full of patients. I have poor night vision and it took me close to two hours to drive back to Del Rio when it is only 70 miles away. I think next time, we will be spending the night in Uvalde!
If things could not get anymore stressful, last week I saw something dart in front of me in the kitchen. Instinctively I knew what it was, even though I was really hoping it was a roach No such luck,,,it was a baby mouse. I grabbed my mixture of clorox and water (remember I was trying to kill the mold in my tent) a few months ago...please don't ask about my tent :(
We had another doctor's appointment today, then mother wanted to go to Walmart before the holiday crowds make it impossible. I was DEAD after we got home but managed to heat up some leftovers for dinner and went to try to catch the Spurs game.
DISH is a POS...I did not contract with them until the end of the Spurs season last year, when they were in the playoffs. Seems that if I want to catch a game, I am going to have to purchase an NBA League Pass...this is not what I had in mind.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!
Sad to have to admit that TWC was a better provider than DISH...but I am stuck in a two year commitment ,,,Darn, how I HATE commitments!!!
DISH gives you a free one month preview of some of their elite channels and this month I get to preview the NBA channel. Wow, I watched announcer Rick Fox last night...and though I deeply dislike the Lakers...this ex-player is like fine wine...hummm...delicious and better with age :D
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
For your doctor appointments, do what I do. I always try to make appointments the first thin in the morning. That way, there none or just a few patients ahead of you. The last time the doctor was late, but it would have been a lot worse if I had had a later appointment. My other problem, is I usually go early, just in case there is a traffic problem. I take my sudoku puzzle book with me.
ReplyDeleteThe Oncologist comes from San Antonio to Uvalde only once a week. If he is not running late his arrival time is around noon.
DeletePatients from the surrounding area go see him because they do not want to make the long trip to San Antonio. As you can imagine most are weak from the chemo sessions and many of them are elderly.
For mice in a home situation I get those yellow wedge poison thingees, they take the bait back to the nest and when they die they dry out and don't smell.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Thanks for the tip Rob, that is exactly what I did.
DeleteSounds like you've had a difficult time lately. I don't think I would stay with a doctor who kept me waiting for over 3 hours. I wonder what would happen if you went in about 2 hrs after your scheduled appointment - they'd probably put you at the end of the list and you'd still be waiting!
ReplyDeleteI hope things get better for you soon.
Three hours is average Gypsy, we have waited more than five before. In my reply to Dizzy I go into more detail.
DeleteThings are a little bit better. Thanks Gypsy.
I met Rick Fox in NYC back in the 90's - we rode down our hotel elevator together. He was with the Celtics at that time. He was cordial when I told him I was a SPURS fan and praised SA. Of course, that was before he became a hated pinche Laker!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your rough time. Your mother is lucky to have a devoted daughter like you.
I start SS in 4 months and it ain't gonna cover life's expenses. Will have to work til I die. But that's OK. Still got our SPURS, right? A friend of mine gave me her username and password for Uverse so I can watch via the internet but SPURS games are blacked out online. SOS
Take care, Ss.
Lol, about the pinche Laker...jajajajaja!
DeleteHow neat that you got to meet someone famous in person. I still got a while to go before I can collect my SS and like you say, it is not going to cover my life's expenses :(
I ended up shelling out $199.00 for an NBA league pass, that is going to cut into my computer fund...but what the heck...I love my Spurs!
You have a nice friend and from what I have heard AT&T Uverse is great. Wish they were out in this area.
I just saw a heartwarming story on Texas Country Reporter about a man in Del Rio named Chito who is disfigured and can't speak yet who has the town's heart as he works around town cutting grass and picking up trash for free. Wonder if you have seen him around town?
ReplyDeleteYes, I have seen him Andy. He is usually on Veteran's Memorial the main drag in town. The only reason I know his name is because he has a banner with his name on one of the mowers he pushes around. I always wandered if he worked for the city but I had no idea he could not speak.
DeleteWish I had seen the story on TCR.