fried green 'maters

My garden consists of three tomato plants in concrete blocks and they are doing fabulous so far with fair size green ones coming forth to fry. My daddy's rule was you couldn't pick a green one until there was one red one but I'm not that patient. They get dusted after every rain and watering so as to keep mr evil longhorn green worm from devouring the whole deal in a day. It's amazing how fast those little shits can move through an entire plant. I don't want to kill him, just keep him away but if I find him on there, he gets thrown into the cornfield where who knows WHAT lurks. It makes for some interesting wildlife action and I have passed deer at the same spot in the lane two days running. Today's little one was followed by a turkey, no less. I just stop and stare in wonder wishing I could capture the moment and share it.

I was off yesterday and we headed to Gigi's for a swim while Booger was at daycare, just us girls. It was lovely to say the least. Before we left all three of us tackled the slimy green blow-up pool just in time for the lawnmower guy to show up. Last time he mowed around it, bless his heart. His weedeater guy was even nice enough to help Shannah move the pool AND the garbage. Having a nice yard is something that I enjoy when I don't have to do it. There was a time when it was my hobby but that was many years and injuries ago. While we were rinsing out the slime with a waterhose this burgandy old ladies' care came pulling up to us from the lane and I figured they were lost and asked if they needed help. "Oh no" said the driver. "We're here to visit." Her passenger was a 95 year old woman whose daddy was the farm manager during the 20s and she had lived here. She remembers having to pick peonies out back and carry them to the basement for storage and packing prior to shipment. "People just can't afford nice flowers anymore" said Miss Mary. She shared that her little sister was born in what used to the dining room that now is Shannah and Booger's room. We exchanged phone numbers and addresses to keep in touch and explore the history of Pecan Lane further but I better not procrastinate on this one. At 95 she could be gone in a flash.

Mama fell again and I didn't get the message until about 12 hours later so I checked in with her to find one arm scraped of flesh and a sore body. I won't go apeshit on this subject choosing instead to set my boundaries firmly after years of listening to her crying, mostly because Daddy doesn't show her the attention she craves. Hey...it is what it is. I asked her why she was getting out of bed anyway since he makes sure she's in before he goes to sleep on the couch. She said she "needed" tylenol. *sigh* She even tried to deny that it happened until she found out he had called me. Just like a little kids. Once an adult, twice a child. Part of me is grateful that they've been allowed to stay in their homeplace until death while the other part mourns the fact that they could have some good quality years in assisted living with socialization other than home health. Which starts back this week.

I talked to my therapist yesterday for quite awhile and as usual he knows me like a book. "I know you already realize all this...but here's the thing...." There are three major areas where I've been overloaded with stress which pretty much covers all of my life so I'm overdue for a meltdown. And I'm not just talking short term. Two of the three issues are long running with the third bringing me straight on down the rabbit hole in the past couple. Amazingly, I am still strong in spirit if not in body. I believe in my heart the God loves each and every one of us in spite of our imperfection and wicked ways. Thank god I'm a country girl recovering CoD.

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