Friday, June 19, 2009

Dante comes for 2 days: Ethan to be here for lunch


I am always glad to have grandsons pay a visit. Dante's mother has gone to work and was also moving, so was very harassed as she has been trying to work double shifts to get the extra money she needed. Her BF, father of her two younger children, is not working and his unemployment benefits have run out, so he is not contributing other than taking care of the children while she works at the moment. The real estate bust in Phoenix has hit them hard because her BF was a heavy equipment operator, and it is hard to tell when there might be work for him again. He has been running a big machine for some years so he is very reluctant to take just any job. I think all these financial problems are causing her to think of separating from him. She is moving to where her best friend will be able to take care of her children while she works. She wants Dante to wait until after his birthday on June 28 to go to California for the summer.
Dante is computer starved since he is a great lover of the computer and video games and gets to go on it when he visits his dad. His mother doesn't have online, naturally, right now. I don't even know if she has a working computer.
Raymond needed Dan to get to Utah as soon as possible to help him with the set and special effects for his show Saturday night. Since Dan's employment at the Sheraton hotel running entertainment equipment was dropping greatly for the summer, he hopped a ride to St. George with someone he found on Craig's List offering a ride for less money than the bus costs for sure and fast. His cousin Cheryl picked him up and took him to Boulder where she now lives. The latest entry in Cowboys and Bohemians on my blog list is an entertaining account of what they have accomplished in just two days, which was quite a bit. They will have a lot to do with the festival coming up in July and one more date for his show at the Hills and Hollows. The first one is on top of Thompson's Ledge.
My daughter Ronda called this morning and is going to bring her son Ethan over for lunch. He has not seen Dante for a long time. She is picking up pizza. Dante has crashed in my recliner and new ottoman which has now become his bed when he visits. We tried to make a video but the battery went low. Doc changed it this morning, but I don't know whether Dante will get one made or not. I want him to get used to having a plan and thinking about what he wants to say.
My daughter is having a struggle with a very demanding nurse's job. She still hasn't gotten used to going so fast and getting as much done as required. She says having to chart everything takes so much time. This is all a new kind of work for her, so she is is still having adjustment problems. I told her she is a perfectionist, and can't stand making any mistakes, besides with patients just out of intensive care, mistakes are not to be desired, so she also feels tension and anxiety. I hope as she does it more, things will get better for her. Or atleast she will feel more at ease and sure she can do the tasks required.
I always feel more useful when I can help out with my grandsons once in a while. More like there is a good reason for living. As you get more feeble with age, you tend to feel more useless.
P.S. On a funny note, I said to Dante, are you putting on weight, you look kind of fat around the middle. He said oh no, that is muscle. I said, oh, I'll bet, so he let me feel and sure enough his torso and arm muscles are hard as can be. A few years ago my son Dan had him doing a lot of push-ups every day to play basketball, saying if he did not have upper body strength he would never be good at it. So Dante still does his push-ups every day! Amazing. Even though he did not go out for basketball. He says he plays now and then.

6 comments:

Sugar said...

love that headliner pic oof you & dante. what a handsome pair. :)
enjoy the time.
hope things get better for your dtr & family quickly. maybe she could transfer to another area in the hosp, where it's not quite so stressful?
have a good wkend.
huggies...

Connie said...

Glad you get some time to enjoy your grandsons.Boy it's hard on everyone these days-'the trickle down effect'....Love your pic-lookin good lady(she says with a slight mexican-lol- accent)..

sober white women said...

I think it is great that you get to have your grandson for a few days.
What you said about feeling useless... well I have heard that before and that is a shame, because older people have so much to offer.
Kelli

Missie said...

Enjoy your weekend.

Carlene Noggle said...

That is the best picture of you and Dante!!!! You look soooo happy! I hope you have loads of fun with your grandchildren while you have them. Gerry there is no way that you could be useless...you are always thinking and using your mind more than anyone I know!
love ya,
carlene

kanyonland King 2.blogspot.com said...

I love this picture of you and Dante. It is very good of you both. Get one with Ethan!
I miss my kids when they don't come around.
I'm also happy your AZ blog re-appeared. That's progress.


Herrad

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