Life is ever changing

A couple of mornings ago the day dawned bright and beautiful. I was inspired to take the dogs for a walk. Sounds like an easy task, but picture this: one is a doxie mix weighing in at 13 lbs and the other a black lab with a furious tail who weighs about 80 lbs. Plus, for some reason I opted to take my coffee with me. I don't know why I took the coffee, but I did. Anyway, the three of us enjoyed a nice leisurely stroll around the lake. I believe it is the first time I have done it this summer. In fact, I know it is. Between being in class and working zombie hours I never enjoy the sunshine. It truly was beautiful, cool but not cold, the skeeters weren't bad and the sun was just coming up. Even little Rosey dog managed to walk the 2.5 miles, although nay-sayers in the family said it would be to far for her little legs. There were just a couple of things I need to keep in mind for next time. 1. Don't bring the coffee cup, there just aren't enough hands. Especially when confronted with holding the inevitable bag of poop. 2. Wear a hat. This is just for protection from the assault of deer flies we encountered at the far side of the lake. This is where the road leaves the waters edge and runs between the lake and a couple of small farms. Oh, and 3. bring some treats for the dogs. They did deserve it.

So yesterday I was home in the AM and decided to do the same. Only this time the sky threatened rain and it was blustery and cold. Actually cold considering it was August 1st. The 3 of us took a walk but the shorter, condensed version. It is still a challenge to keep leashes from getting twisted and entwined, but we are figuring it out. This time we took a different route that encompasses more hills. I believe Rosey was shooting me dirty looks as we climbed the last one towards home. However, Riley appeared to appreciate the little dip he got to take at the boat launch. The dog does love his water. He just walks out into the water and smiles. If you know dogs, you know they are expressive, so you can picture the pink tongue hanging out of the black lab face in a big gaping smile. Contrasted with Rosey's little underbite and expression of disdain. She hates the water. Riley likes it so much we keep a kiddie pool for him in the backyard.

This morning I was up again way before 5 AM. Maybe I should have been a farmer. But today I awoke from a fitful sleep with a jammin' headache and just a yuk feeling. Sorry pups, no walk this AM. I need to spend some time studying as I have to ace my exam tomorrow. I did put some rub on the ribs and got them marinating in the frig. I've never made bbq baby back ribs like this before. I think I must cook when I am home because I feel so guilty about not feeding my family the other 3 nights a week. The men just won't cook. However, things are changing that might just change the cooking schedule in the house.

Child #1 moved out in December to live with the boyfriend. In May they produced beautiful granddaughter #1. In July they moved to MI with promises of a house (cheap rent) and jobs (full-time with bennies). Here it is a month later and the promised jobs didn't exist. The rent for the house is cheap enough, but it doesn't matter how cheap it is if you do not money coming in. So, they swallowed their respective pride and asked to move back here. I don't mean here in this state, I mean here in this house. I think this is why I didn't sleep well last night and probably is contributing to this AM's headache. The voices in my head had been telling/warning (?) me of this for quite some time. Mainly just because they have been broke for months, and now it is coming to fruition. It will be okay, there will just be lots of adjustments to be made. There are also a couple of - oh I don't know the word at the moment - but some rules they must follow. The daughter and the baby can come back, but there must be a marriage for the boyfriend to move in also. I'm willing to help, but I'm not compromising everything. The daughter must return to school. To me this is more important then them getting full-time jobs and chipping in with rent. And if he wants to go back, he might as well do it while living here. And I told the daughter she needs to look at something that will provide an actual income. Not something that will allow her to say "do you want fries with that". The local tech college offers lots of things in the medical field, and that's where she needs to be concentrating. I don't care if it's x-ray tech, dental assisting, nursing whatever, she needs to head in that direction. Now that she is a Mom she needs to not only look after herself, but also that little bundle of joy. And lastly, no lying. The time to be a truculent teen is waaaaay past. This will only work if they are honest. I know they are up to their collective eyeballs in debt, so they can't be promising to help with things that they can't afford to do.

So, she agreed, and she cried, and she sounded tired and emotionally drained. My heart goes out to her, but only so far. I guess that's because as a young girl/teen she tromped all over my heart and broke it several times. Now I stay slightly reserved just for protection. But she's learning the real hard way about becoming a responsible person. Hopefully the boyfriend/fiance is learning some lessons too. He should, he's old enough with 2 kids from a previous marriage. Time for them all to put on the grown-up panties. That doesn't sound as good as big-girl panties, but I don't really want to imagine him in big-girl panties. Oh damn. Too late.