Loving God, have mercy.
We are home after an 11 hour trip. Connecticut was stupid crowded, slow, long, and in the way. I would just like to eliminate it or have a giant bridge from Rhode Island to say, Elizabeth NJ or something. Fuck that state. Fuck it so hard.
But we did get to stop and eat some fun flaming hot chicken in Bridgeport so that was a plus, so okay. It can live. Next time, I'll get more coleslaw and fewer fries. This redeems Connecticut for me, today.
Sunday morning, Doug said he wanted to be on the road "after coffee." I got up early, started packing, so I was packed and ready, Geoff was packed and ready, the dog was packed and ready. Doug finally got in gear after being the person who wanted to go early.
We left the hotel at about 10.
We went to Dunks, because we both needed big coffee action, and he wanted to get mom lemon filled donuts. I told him I didn't think she'd eat them, because she doesn't fucking eat anything.
He insisted. I relented.
We got her two, and a plain "old fashioned" cake one. She ate one of the lemon donuts, and saved the other for later. And will have the cake one for breakfast tomorrow with her coffee. And she was thrilled and crowing about it.
So Doug hurt himself patting himself on the back for being right. And I was wrong. See? She liked it. I was right!
Okay, dude... whatever.
Linda and Ronnie arrived shortly thereafter and Linda started cleaning out the fridge. So much to throw out. Stuff my mom can't or won't eat (some went home with Jess), and she sprayed everything down, scrubbed it all, and there are four barren shelves and some things in the door.
Ronnie went on a mission to find the battery for my mom's back-up for the internet. A harder challenge than we thought. Doug started weed whacking along the property edge and around the trailer to tidy up some spots after Ronnie spent the day Friday taking care of the hedges out front that had trees growing up in them. I sat with my mom opening cards and making thank you notes to the people locally who dropped off cards at the funeral parlor. I took away the notes that needed to be mailed, and she will have her neighbor hand deliver the ones to the folks in the trailer park.
I put duct tape down on places where the linoleum had split (the door to the bathroom, around the tub). Jess arrived and I gave them some instruction on things that Lin and I had left undone in my dad's room in our cleaning frenzy. We had taken down the curtains to wash them, and they needed ironed. Her neighbor (the one who helped the day my dad died) is going to iron them and hang them back up. After we left, Jess dressed the bed, got everything that needed finishing done up nice.
We just have to wash all his blankets but to be honest, some of them are older than my kids, so they can probably go and we'll get something nice. They're on the floor in the closet in a pile. We'll deal with it in August.
Doug discovered that one of the porch steps was off on one side, completely detached, so he wanted to fix it. He searched and searched the back corner of the porch which my mom calls "Bart's Junk Corner" where there are cat toys for the cat who died years and years ago, and rubbermaid containers of birdseed, which they haven't put out for the birds in a super long time since my dad had dupuytren's in both hands and for years couldn't really open the tops of the bird feeders.
He finally found a hammer. My mom was impressed. He couldn't find nails but found a small electric cordless drill that he charged up, a bunch of screws. None of them did the job so we texted Ronnie to let him know the need. After we left, the neighbors came over and they had the right tools and screws and nails and all kinds of good stuff so they fixed the step and Lin texted me pictures of the completed repair.
Her trailer needs work, and we're going to have to find contractors, but for now, she won't shuffle her feet into the bathroom and trip and smack her head on the corner of the vanity sink, and she won't fall through that second step down.
And the yard looks marvelous now because of both of them.
Doug filled the bird feeders, since that was something my dad did daily until he couldn't. The birds will be confused in a couple days after they drain the seed and there is nothing there. We'll fill them again in August, I guess.
We left feeling like things were relatively under control, and knowing a short list of immediate needs. Linda and I will need to talk this week about what we need to do next.
All told, we did it. We made it through this week. It was a lot of work, and we had great success.
And now we focus on the what's next for Bart for interment, and for Shirley in her home.
But first, another beer at 1:30am, because I feel like I'm still in a car that is moving. Doug turned the AC off before leaving so it was 82 in here when we arrived and now, 2 hours later, it is still uncomfortable.
I'm way off my food game, and my blood sugar game. I'm hungry but don't want to eat. And we don't have milk for coffee so I may have to run to the store in the morning, I'm not sure. Maybe Geoff will go. Who knows.
No matter what though, I'm home and relieved, even if it is hot and smells kinda funny in here...
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