I have pretty much recovered fully from the surgery and I have to say the Dermatologist did a pretty good job stitching me up. I don't think I'll have much if any scar at all on my nose which surprises me. Glad about that, even if it takes away a bit of the "tough guy" look!
So overall - and I stress OVERALL - the 4th of July camping trip was fun. I really did enjoy having my older kids in town and they absolutely love my GF and she feels the same about them. The weather was fantastic - not too hot days and nice cool evenings which is a bit of a surprise for this time of year. The not so good part was the morning after we arrived. The camper in the site just above us had pushed their sewage line too far down the pipe and it was blocking all of the sewage above it from draining into the septic tank. So when sewage can't drain down into a tank, it comes up through the pipe and the result was a river of sewage heading towards our campsite. YUCK!! So we had to pack everything up and get moved to another campsite after dealing with some smelly sh*t!!
Then there was the RV. It was in the shop for servicing right up until the day we left and they failed me on the vehicle inspection because of cracking in the tires. I had not been able to take it out last year and the sitting around not moving took a toll on them. So it will cost me about $1500 to replace all 6 of them. The servicing and a few minor repairs has already cost me $600. Plus I have a converter issue that they identified but could not fix before I left so I have to take it back to get repaired. THEN on the way home I stopped to fill up the tank and gas starting pouring out from under the RV. There is not a hole in the tank and it is not leaking from the fuel line either. It is either the pipe from the nozzle to the gas tank or the overflow sensor is broken. Either way it's another issue that needs to be fixed. Luckily I had enough gas in it to get home! So this is piling up to be an expensive money pit this month.
I have been playing some pretty decent golf - at least for me! Was fortunate to have two nice rounds in the mid-80's the last two times I went out. I'm playing this Sunday so we will see if they were a fluke or if I am on to something here. PGA tour here I come - NOT - but it is nice to be shooting back down in the 80's again as it has been a long time coming.
GG - Glad to hear Dave is back in your life, in a good way! Hope things continue to work out for you with him.
Bets - Sorry the IC sessions are so tough, but it is good to get through stuff that is causing so much stress, even when you don't recognize that it has. BTW - I've seen your face and a bunch of tears are not going to impact how nice you look - even a river of tears wouldn't get you even close to my ugly mug!
BA - Thanks for the laugh! I'm sorry to hear about the *ahem* crap, but something tells me that it's a trip you'll never forget. Mr. Wonderful and I always seemed to have those kinds of vacations. But ya know what? We laughed then, and we laugh harder now. All in all, I think we both know how to forge a memory out of stuff like that. When we pulled in the garage after such a vacation, he would look at me and grin while saying, "Best Vacation Ever!" To this day, it makes both of us giggle.
And for the record, most of those kinds of vacations were in our RV. I think they are just money pits, but sure a heck of a lot of fun. LOL, one trip, we were camping with a bunch of friends from his work (I think D20 was a toddler) and in our pop up camper, but neighbors of ours rented a very sparse pop up. They pulled in the campsite and we just looked at each other. It looked like a plywood base with a tent top that had 2 really rickety bed platforms that pulled out to each side. It rained (of course), and that thing leaked. You know what the "branding" was on the side of that thing? Memory Maker! We still call the crappy pop ups Memory Makers...
Now, on to my friend GG! I love seeing your FB photos - you look like you're having a lot of fun this summer. That's awesome! But... you know I'm gonna ask this, especially since you spent that entire workshop dodging Dave. Huh???????? Our last conversation you told me he was needy and morphed into the person he thought he should be. What changed? Or did you? Or is this a different Dave?
Still plugging on here, taking care of 2 households. We finally had to give in and repaint the entire interior and replace the carpeting due to the smoking. The painters had to seal everything with a smoke sealing primer and then they can paint. They'll be finishing up by Saturday. Carpet is being installed the week of the 21st. I love it so much and wish it were mine. We have an interested buyer who is seeing the house for the 3rd time today. I hope this one is the grand slam. I have difficulty managing my own house, let alone 2 of them.
Yes, IC has been good for me. If anything, it's making me be nicer to myself, and committing to me. I deserve that much, ya know? Instead of IC today, I have a mammogram instead. At least that won't make me cry. But I really don't have anything to cry about. Typically, the week of the 4th is really slow for us... actually, summer in general is slow because decision makers don't take vacation time at the same time. But this summer has been busy, and I actually got a really good order that week. Things are definitely looking up.
Now that summer is half over, I'm trying to make the most of it. D20 is heading to NYC next week to see her BF and go to the James Taylor concert. Then she's gonna be a tourist. You have to know that it really and truly galled me to see her purchase a Yankees shirt. She better not wear it around me.
OK, gotta get a couple things done before heading to the mammo.
Sounds like everyone is doing much, much better lately. That's good!
Bets
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
BA, Sorry to hear about the crap you went through, but glad it was all in all a wonderful time and everyone enjoyed each other. Sometimes those crises bring out the best instead of the worst! Yikes...good for you, the 80's. I'm hoping to get in the 90's so good for you.
Betsey, Yep, I think the time apart did us good. We are both different people than when we first got together. Dave continues to work on himself more than any other man I have ever met in my life. He has built some things into his life (men's group, men's golf league, etc.) and understands the importance of time apart. We built a friendship first and proceeded slowly. I did need to see if Dave changed for himself or simply to be with me. He clearly enjoys the new "him" and continues to seek ways to further his new path. It feels healthy and good. We are enjoying many activities together. It's not competitive between us at all and I find myself asking for his advice and help. I haven't done that before; I just used to think I knew everything. His patience has helped me see where I need to grow. I have found myself slipping into old patterns, but he's gentle and we work through things. We take it one day at a time and see what happens. I do like so many things about him. This is a lesson to me that no one is perfect and I need to look for the positives instead of the negatives. In life it's so easy to do that. Perhaps I was just finding things to push him away because of my fear? I think people eluded to that on this very forum!
Sending out good thoughts for you as you head to your mamo today. Let's hit some golf balls soon!
Me 55 H 49 Married 21 years No kids bomb 5/09 filed 7/09 divorced and moving forward 5/10
Wow.... what a fabulous turn of events!!! I'm really happy that you both have something to work toward. How awesome is that?
Quote:
This is a lesson to me that no one is perfect and I need to look for the positives instead of the negatives. In life it's so easy to do that. Perhaps I was just finding things to push him away because of my fear? I think people eluded to that on this very forum!
LOL, I think this very topic is what spurred on our community thread a year ago. And since this is the crap (sorry, BA, this seems to be a great theme) that's coming up in IC, I totally get it. Good for you for working through it. I'm really proud of ya! I'll let you be my heroine.
Golf balls in August before you head back to school? I have to get through this 2 house thing and then the memorial service on the 25th first. Then I think I have some breathing room.
So keep up the great work, ok?
Welcome Scooby and JS to our community thread. We consider it the coffee shop for thoughts du jour.
BA, back to crap, already in progress.
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Hey Scooby - welcome to the thread where "we shoot the sh*t" or is it "complain about the crap", well enough of the puns, you get the idea.
So I did some more calling around for tires and was able to find a place that will put 6 new ones on my RV for $1123.00 this Saturday. Glad that I could get it down under the first estimate of $1500. They are the same exact tires too, so it pays to get extra estimates! No idea how much the other stuff will cost, but it's not an option to not have them fixed so I'll just have to bite the bullet and "get er done!"
I have decided that it's time for me to make a move up the food chain here at work, so I've put in for 3 new positions within our agency that are the next (and final) rung up on the career ladder. Two of the positions match up so closely to my skill sets that it almost seems like they used my resume to write the position descriptions! Now I just have to hope that there aren't already some backroom deals that have been made with people to get the jobs and that I have an equal chance of being considered for them. Keeping my fingers crossed that I make the certification listing and get an interview.
Next week at this time, D17 and D16 will be getting ready to go to Costa Rica with their mom. They will be riding horses on the beach, going to spas and generally just living the good life for 8 days. The day they return I am headed North to Michigan to have a memorial mass for my Father and then spread his ashes out over the Au Sable River. My mother, brother and his family, and my two older kids will be joining me along with my GF. It was my father's last request that we do this for him, so it will be good to know that we have fulfilled his wishes.
That's awesome! But... you know I'm gonna ask this, especially since you spent that entire workshop dodging Dave. Huh???????? Our last conversation you told me he was needy and morphed into the person he thought he should be. What changed? Or did you? Or is this a different Dave?