Today Makes Six

...days without Cousin. I haven't seen her since Friday night at dinner. In case you have never noticed, Cousin is more than just my cousin, she is my very best friend. We know literally everything about each other. We know each other so well that we can complete each others' sentences, and totally understand what the other one is talking about when one of us says, "You know that guy with the car and the girl with the hair..."

Anyhow, she is gone on vacation and I miss her terribly. She and her husband left Saturday for Mobile. They stayed there for two nights before boarding a cruise ship bound for Mexico on Monday. I talked to her several times on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. But since the ship left the harbor, I haven't heard from her one single time. The difference in this vacation and all the others is that this time we haven't been able to communicate; all of her past vacations have been in places where her cell phone could still be used. I think she can use her phone in Mexico, but would have to pay international charges, which are ridiculous, so that's a no-go.

Not a lot has happened this week, but there has been plenty of times I reached for the phone to call her. I guess I realized this morning that I take for granted the fact that she is always there for me. Missing her as badly as I do today made me take pause and think about how much she means to me. I had to say a little prayer and thank God for her and our friendship, and ask Him to bring her safely home on Saturday. I plan on telling her as soon as she gets back all of these things and that she is never again allowed to take a vacation that causes her cell phone to be such a useless accessory. With all of that said, I hope she's having the time of her life. She has never been out of the country before, and she was a little nervous about "crossing the border" and about getting too claustrophobic on the ship. I truly hope that all of those worries deserted her and that this is the most fun that she's ever had!

So here are a few of the things that I would tell her if she were here this week.
~ I'm PMS-y for one thing. And that pretty much explains everything else... Last week I was weepy, and this week I have been going back and forth between whiny and bitchy, mainly bitchy.

~ One of our friends was involved in a bad car accident on Tuesday. I didn't find out about it until yesterday. She has no serious injuries, but has a broken nose, swelling in her her leg and arm, and is bruised badly everywhere. She hydroplaned and her car landed in someone's house. She is still in the hospital, but may get to go home today or tomorrow. Her parent's live away from here and her son was already with them for a week's visit, so she's utterly alone at the hospital. I fell to pieces when I realized she was up there all by herself. If Cousin was here, she could have gone to her when I couldn't. I called Pastor, and he went.

~ There is another part of the story I just mentioned. I was not able to go to the hospital yesterday to see my friend, and I was very upset about it. I can't exactly get into the entire thing here, but basically one person is responsible for this. That person is aware that I was unhappy with her yesterday, but I'm not sure she realizes to what extent. Under ordinary circumstances, Cousin would be my sounding board for this particular frustration, and would have also helped me find another solution about getting me to that hospital yesterday.

~ Thankfully, as far as all the male-related drama in my life goes, this has been a very uneventful week. I am almost afraid that such a streak of luck will not last, but at least for the past three days there is absolutely nothing to report. Big's girlfriend hasn't called or texted me in two weeks, so I'm fairly certain that I'll never hear from her again. I'm also fairly certain that I'll never hear from him again, and that is just wonderful with me. I haven't seen Bull Rider a single time this week. I will not be able to escape him as easily as Mr. Big, nor do I really feel the need for complete avoidance where he's concerned, but it's been very calm around here this week and I'm glad.

~ Also I have picked up a few tidbits in the last few days about Ex. One thing is that he's lost some weight. Another is that it looks as though the wedding will take place sometime in the fall. I am assuming since she's a teacher that it will be the week her school is out for Fall Break. The story he told to my source is that he had just started a new job (I've rode that rodeo before) and that he won't have time to help her plan anything for a while. I think what he meant, and I'm sure that Cousin would agree, is that it will take him that long to get enough money pulled together to pull the whole thing off. I have also heard that his friend is very unhappy about the union, and that all Ex and his girl do is argue and fight. Shock, shock. The "good" in me wants to feel sorry for him, but the "ex-girlfriend" in me is happy that he's getting what he deserves.

~ Roommate went to the urologist today. She still has not passed the kidney stone that the emergency room found the other day. It's in her bladder so it's just a matter of time. But he said that there are "bunches of little ones" still in her kidneys. Wonderful. He gave her a medication that will help her use the restroom more often (oh goody!), some pain killers, and a list of food and drinks that she should and should not consume. She has to go back in two weeks.

~ I need a t-shirt that says "CAUTION: Idiot Walking." I did it again today! I left my lights on in my car, so when I was on my way to lunch the stupid thing wouldn't crank. I pitched an unholy fit in the parking lot, turned the lights off, and stomped across the street to lunch. The walk helped cool off my temper, and I did have the presence of mind to thank God that today was such a pretty day for a walk. It could have been raining or sweltering hot, but it wasn't. Just like the last time, when I got back to work, the car started immediately. I let it run for a little while and then went to the bank. I stopped at the gas station to use the bathroom and turned the car off. I had a brief moment of panic wondering what I would do if it didn't start back, but it did. I think that's probably the last time I can do that without completely killing the battery.

~ During the summer, the local library has a summer-fun program for children on Wednesdays. We take the school-aged kids from daycare to the program every summer. Yesterday was the second session. The problem that arises the longer that the program lasts is this: when 50 or more kids check out 6 or more books each one week, that leaves precious few books to choose from the next week. The way they operate the program, the kids return the books before the session begins, but they are not checked back into the system and re-shelved until the session is over. We have two or three older kids at daycare (ages 10-12) who are effected by this, and yesterday they had problems finding books for their level of reading. We send our kids in three groups to check out books; when they are finished, they sit in a line against a bookshelf to wait on everyone else. It so happened that the shelf they were lined up against yesterday held the romance novels, which may I add, is the most abundant genre of books the small library has. That in itself is a sad commentary on this little town. I'm not trying to pass judgement there, because I like a good romance novel from time to time, but it's sad that these books take up half of the library. Anyhow, we were just getting ready to leave, and the oldest kid at daycare comes to me with a question. I am passing out my good-byes to several adults at this point and she waited very patiently for me to acknowledge her. Then she says, "Ms. Stacy, can I check out one of those books?" And pointed right to the romance novels!!! I didn't skip a beat before shaking my head and saying "Nooo way..." She simply said, "Alright," and then was gone. The adults that I had been speaking with had all they could do not to laugh in the girl's innocent face. One of them said, "I could just imagine the phone call that you would get tonight if you let her take home one of those books!" My reply was simple, "Those books are full of lessons that she is NOT going to learn on my clock!!!"

So those are the things right off the top of my head that I would love to be discussing with Cousin right now. She won't be back until late in the afternoon/evening on Saturday, and I'm sure that when she gets home she will be utterly exhausted. But I am still planning on planting myself right inside her front door to welcome her home!!!