Blunder of extreme proportion

I am a planner, an organizer. I make things happen because I think about things days, weeks, even months in advance. It's a gift. Or a curse, depending on how you look at it or if you are involved in my planning.

Yesterday I had some time to think about our trip to Paris. I've been gone every day from early until late and just haven't been able to pull things together regarding the trip - it all can't just fall into place the day before we go, I have to plan.

So I got the toiletry bag out and went through it, making mental notes of what I need to buy, well ahead of time. Went online, read up about Paris, how to use their bathrooms, the Euros exchange rate, what the weather is like. My friend Jera is here and we were talking about France. She mentioned she doesn't have a passport. I told her to get one and she could go with. Passport, hmmm. Maybe I should get those out. Riley's - good til 2017. Kaye's - good til 2010, wait, what - Jan 25, 2010. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My heart fell into my socks. I stared at the numbers trying to make it be 2012 which is what I thought it was. No amount of staring at the 0 made it a 2. I yelled for Amy - she was the only one in the house so of course I had to yell for/at someone. I held out the evil passport, the betrayer, my hopes dashed. She said not to worry, she'd find out how to expedite it since she'd had to do that before.

The phone call she made left me feeling like a baby, an onlooker. I should have been making the call, taking care of my own problem yet my 23-year-old daughter was calmly handling the woman on the other end who told Amy I NEEDED TO SHOW UP IN AURORA, COLORADO, SAN FRANCISCO OR TUCSON to get my new passport. THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING - ARRRRGGGHHHHH! I explain through tears to her I can't leave the state - it's end of semester, I'm interviewing and hiring new students in the newsroom and doing final grades, I'm moving grandma from Stonehenge to home next week - I can't take a day trip!

I called Riley and wailed, we can't go to France - my passport is expired. Even as I'm saying it I'm planning how to get it renewed in time but the swell of improbability swallows me up and I have to be dramatic. It's ridiculous. He is sympathetic and says to call Lorie, our travel agent at BYU. I call her, knowing she won't answer because she NEVER answers - I always have to leave a message.

She answers.

I explain my dilemma. Oh, she says, there's this great place in Salt Lake. You just have to take your old passport and two passport photos to them. It's a bit expensive, she says. Anything - I'll pay whatever, I tell her. I think aloud - I'll need to get those photos somewhere. She says, just come in to my office, we take them here. I am silently thanking my lucky stars for her, for my calm daughter who got the ball rolling, for the company in SL that's going to charge me a bundle and for a Heavenly Father who planted a tiny seed in my head to GO LOOK AT THE PASSPORTS! Imagine if I hadn't looked until the day of our trip. Horrors.

So, on Monday I will drive to Salt Lake, pay Travel Brokers several hundred dollars, and hopefully have my renewed passport before April 14 when we hopefully leave for Paris.

It was a harrowing experience. Amy commented, well mom, if you didn't have 40,000 people's lives to look after right now (OK, she exaggerated a bit), you might have thought to look at your passport. It's true. I am overextended a bit. I really need this getaway, if for nothing else than to clear my mind and come home to take it all on again.

A charmed day

I love it when all the planets align and karma kicks in providing a charmed day. Although I took my mom to the wrong doctor's office (he used to be there), I got her to her doctor on time and he was proud of her for her knee being in such good shape. After leaving her at Stonehenge (the rehab center), I went to Walgreen's where I bought $56 worth of stuff and only paid $40 because of coupons. Then I drove through Wendy's where I cashed in a free hamburger coupon, paying zip, and went through the drive-thru at McDonald's where I got a free fruit smoothie. Even all the traffic lights were green or turning green as I approached them today. Riley and I had a nice, free dinner at the Bean Museum and I learned about lemurs in Madagascar at an interesting lecture.

Very nice day. Charmed.

Thoughts on a Wednesday

1) Where did March go?
2) I'm glad my mom is doing better.
3) I went to the temple last night and received insight.
4) We're meeting with a financial consultant today. That makes me feel old.
5) Riley and I leave for Paris three weeks from today - wahoo!!!
6) I need to go exercise this morning. My little effort at Pilates helps me feel good.
7) Stella, my cat, woke me up this morning by biting and licking my fingers.
8) I miss Andrea. She's traveling around Utah during Spring Break.
9) I got to see both Jason and Amy in my office yesterday.
10) I'm happy to be alive.

Where is my mom?

This blog should be fun but now I dread writing anything. I've lost my mother again and wonder when I'll get her back. Her surgery went well but her mind is somewhere between Pasadena and Mars. I just can't figure out why she talks crazy but snaps out of it when I call her on it. I worry the care center is going to kick her out and I'll have to find a new place for her. January and February were wonderful - a nice, normal, low-stress, happy break from the difficult year it's been with her. She is still my best friend but now that I've assumed a parental role, it's just not the same.

A mom update

I took my mom to the doctor this week. He's the one who gives her shots of hydrocortisone in her left knee so she can walk until it hurts again. He has warned her that she would probably need to get it replaced. That day has come. Her knee is bone-on-bone and the femur is shifted about an inch. It looks painful and I know it is for my mom.

We've had a good couple of months since she got home from the rehab center in December. She loves living in her home and the caregivers Matt and Alyssa are wonderful to have there. She also has Melanie and Amber, two women who come in when Matt and Alyssa can't be there. They read to her, take her to Wendy's, clean and keep her company. It's been so ideal but I've been holding my breath to see how long the magic would last.

She will have surgery on March 8, Riley's birthday. The hope is that she will be in the hospital for three days, rehab for 10 and then go home to recuperate. She had her right knee replaced about 15 years ago and she remembers the horrible pain she had with that. The doctor says it won't be so bad this time - we hope he's right.

I worry about her and for her. She has aged a lot in the past year. Her eyesight stinks and she loses words. She doesn't like either of those conditions. I'm selfish and want to keep her here but I know the day will come when she will need to be freed from an aged, aching body. I just need to remember it's the Lord's will, not mine.

Burst of energy

Late-night burst of energy in 25 minutes:
Cleaned out the fridge - threw icky-looking stuff away (composted actually)
Loaded the dishwasher
Took out the trash and recycling
Wiped down the cupboards
Put the pans away
Paid some bills
Cleaned up the living room
Put shoes away
Updated blog

Where did this come from? When will it return? Did an alien entity inhabit my body for a short time? Perhaps it is in anticipation of spending hours getting my mother's taxes ready to send off tomorrow. Now I have fewer distractions and can possibly get them ready!

New blog background!

Andrea went hunting for something Oz-ish to re-do my very boring looking blog page. First she found some wild brightly colored poppies that made my eyes bug out and would have hurt anyone's eyes who looked at it. Then she found some nice clouds against a blue sky but it felt too busy and not enough Oz-ish. You can see what we settled on - rolling emerald green hills against a stormy yet blue-ish sky and a lovely rainbow. Subtle yet thought-provoking in so many ways. Thanks for sending me over the rainbow. Soon I will overcome my trepidation about putting a picture on my page. Soon.