Visited Dad Yesterday….

With Grandma Bryant passing away last Sunday, I became eligible for bereavement leave from work. Due to Covid-19 there really wasn’t a funeral, but she was laid to rest this past Saturday, so no funeral is anticipated at this time. Read her obituary here. But like I said this qualifies for bereavement leave from work. So, I took it this week. And it was time to visit Dad:

After verifying with my boss that I in fact could take bereavement, I called out Sunday night. Went to bed late and slept in till 1am Monday morning. I was trying to reset my circadian rhythm to a normal day/night cycle. My main agenda on Monday was two-fold: visit Mrs. Fields and get my bike ready. Really, all I could to was to put more air in the tires and oil the chain. I do need to get it to the shop to have the rear cassette looked at (and it needs tuning). But I was able to stay up till 7 pm Monday night.

Tuesday (yesterday) got up at 4am. Really bad headache. 2 cups of coffee later, headache is gone. Looking at the time tables for Pierce Transit, I had enough time (and quarters) to do my laundry before I left. So, after washing my clothes, I grabbed my bike and left. I took my bike so I could ride the 2 miles for so from the last bus stop to Dad’s house, and I didn’t know what his driving status was given his strokes he had in 2017. Good call.

So I get to Dad’s house. The consensus is that I’m getting the living room couch. I should point out that I had no input in the matter. Now I need to figure out how to dispose of my old couch. There are lots of items of cow memorabilia to disperse. I think an estate sale is forthcoming. I found out that Trouble (his cat) went over the Rainbow Bridge. But, he already has another cat, though I really didn’t have the chance to introduce myself. While I was there, I sat down to his laptop and recovered his Windows logon password (and his Outlook passwords). I was also able to reset his Facebook password, though he’s still locked out of his account until they can verify his identity. We tried it with the laptop’s webcam and his driver’s license, and it was a lost cause. I was going to stay until 5, but I decided to leave at 3, so I can ride back to the bus stop in day light. And I made it home by 5. I was going to help him get stuff organized, but I ended up just talking to him. It’s going to take more than three days’ worth of bereavement leave (and my two day weekend) to get him packed up and the house cleared out. There are still too many unknowns for now.

I’m not going back to work until Friday night. And I’ve learned that it’s not really worth it to force reset my circadian rhythm just for one visit. And it’s better to just walk it from the bus stop to Dad’s house (I just need to give myself more time)….

Hail to the Chief…

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President. Hey Cheetos-Face: You’re still fired. There was the standard and well-needed call for unity. Although to be honest, I fell asleep through the speech.Cheetos-Face came in saying he was going to drain the swamp. He left us a cesspool. But enough about the predecessor, Biden has much on his plate. But now, the damage of the past 4 years can be undone…

Yes, I know it’s been a while….

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written here. Sometimes, Life just gets in the way sometimes. Or I sit down to write something, and nothing comes out. Or I look out the window, and so much is happening and I don’t know where to begin.

So last week, Congress finally certified the Electoral College voting. Biden will be the next President. Cheetos-Face apparently had other ideas, and I think he’ll find out pretty soon that inciting a riot in CAPITOL building will not be a good thing for your political career.

But this is not about the drama in Washington DC, and all the talk about sedition and insurrection (here’s a clue. The election is over. Power will change hands on January 20, and you’ll have another change to change in 4 years). This is about something even more personal (at least to me):

In September, Grandma turned 95. There were phone calls (I was one of them), and visitors. And afterwards, the decline started. I think it was mainly due to age. There were a couple of falls. And soon after Christmas, she ended up in the hospital. The initial talk was to release her into a rehab facility,but her decline continued, and in the end, it was decided to send her home, and let nature run its course (that last part my father did not tell me, but the writing was on the wall). So, she came home from the hospital yesterday (Sunday). And Sunday afternoon, surrounded by family, Dorothy Bryant slipped off this mortal coil. I found out about this while checking my Facebook feed. And I called Dad to confirm it. There is grief. But her suffering is now over. My father, who was her caretaker for the past 25 years, can finally retire.

This past week at work, I was plagued with the urge to call out Sunday night. I didn’t have a specific reason too. But when I got home Sunday morning and checked how much sick time I had available (and I had enough to cover my shift), I decided to pull the trigger, and take a sick day for mental health (the week at work had been particularly stressful, too). So I called out, and put in a request to use my sick time. And then I turned on my computer and found out. Had I not called out, I would’ve found out while I was on the bus to work. And I most likely would’ve tried to work through it. Not a good proposition. I guess it was foreboding, but it was a good thing I heeded it…

Grandma, you will be missed.