Did Murphy move in too?

#2 - September 29, 2010

Murphy's Law: If anything bad can happen, it will and at the most inconvenient time.

As we gathered around the dinner table to celebrate Lisa's 39th birthday yesterday, I was thinking about these last few days. She'd come home from the Emergency Room wearing one of those fashion boots with the Velcro straps. Nothing was broken but she does have a sprain and stretched tendon in her right ankle from her fall down the basement steps. Her face was ghostly pale and she was high on pain medicine that was obviously wearing off quickly. Tim carried her into the house and plopped her in my recliner. Once he had a pillow under her foot, he took off for the pharmacy to get her scripts filled. It was obvious to me he wasn't a happy camper and it seemed the word STRESSED was flashing in neon above his head.

By falling and getting hurt, Lisa has successfully lengthened all the To Do Lists throughout the family except for her own. We had been counting on her to do her share of the work. How does a man who already had a heavy load work it out when so many things are going wrong? If he'd had a pressure gauge, I'm sure the needle would have been in the red danger zone!

Everybody is upset. We all know she didn't fall on purpose but that doesn't stop us from resenting the situation we've been suddenly thrust into. I guess if I look on the positive side, we all have an opportunity to see how resilient we are, how adaptable we are and how resourceful and patient we are. I think I flunked all of the above yesterday but I didn't lose my temper! Came pretty close but fortunately kept a lid on it. That scene would have been ugly. I feel like a spoiled child who doesn't want to share her favorite chair where she knits and reads in quiet solitude! Why isn't it okay for a sixty year old woman to stomp her feet and have a hissy fit? I could win an Oscar for my performance!

I truly believe doctors should restrict the use of cell phones for patients who aren't "sick". Receiving text messages from a crippled patient who wants something every few minutes is annoying. Chelsea and Heidi haven't reached the mutiny stage yet but they're getting close. This will truly be a test of patience for all of us including Lisa.

Back to the dinner table - Tim cooked a delicious shepherd's pie which gave me a break from the kitchen. Heidi made a cherry cheesecake for Lisa rather than a regular birthday cake and we all had plenty to eat. I'm not sure what happened but the graham cracker crumb crust for the cheesecake was just a heap of crumbs. Since the box for the Jello no-bake cheesecake is already in the trash bin out at the curb, I can't say whether the instructions include baking the crust though Heidi insists it didn't say anything about using an oven. Was Murphy keeping her company in the kitchen?

Though Valerie doesn't have to respond to any of Lisa's text messages because she has no cell phone, she's had her own share of stress this week. We discovered on Tuesday that she had a thriving case of head lice. Did Murphy follow her home from school? Her beautiful curly red hair was infested which on the brighter side successfully delayed her trip to the salon for the haircut she doesn't want. Tim insists she keep her hair tidy and out of her face but unless she has it tied back, it just creates this lovely cloud of curls that reach to her shoulders. When wet, it reaches the middle of her back. She's having fun with her long hair. I remember the haircut I suffered at her age when my own mother took me to her beautician friend for a cut and perm. I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide until it grew out again. That first day at school after my hair was cut short was excruciatingly painful. My classmates's comments were cruel and I fear Valerie will suffer similarly. Now that I'm in a 'Grandma' role for our 'family', it is imperative that Tim and I discuss this before he forces this change on her. I don't know yet how serious he is about insisting on this haircut issue. He has a tendency to make threats when he's unhappy about something and I don't know which ones he'll actually act upon. I'm hoping as I get to know him better, I'll be able to read him with more confidence. Valerie stayed home from school yesterday and sat patiently on the floor in front of Lisa while the nits were combed from her hair. After stripping her bed and gathering all the towels, she laundered them as instructed and didn't hesitate to iron the sheets and pillowcases as an added precaution. She's just so calm and easy-going amidst all this craziness. Valerie seems to always have a smile and is a joy to have around.

Old Murphy found Ray too and it wasn't just the lost email problems (he composed a letter to the bishop three times and somehow lost it each time). Tim created a space in the garage for Ray to organize his boxes of books and clergy related materials. There were several shelf units to be put together and after a brief tutorial where Tim showed Ray how to assemble them, Tim left and went about doing errands. When Tim returned, he found Ray had made no progress at all. Murphy had run off with the part of Ray's brain that facilitates any kind of assembly or building abilities! I'm sure he did his best but it just wasn't going to happen. Poor Ray. Poor Tim. After dinner, Tim and I got the shelves put together in about fifteen minutes. Today Ray worked hard moving his boxes around. Eventually I hope to park my car in the garage again. One can hope. Right?

I think somewhere in here Murphy took a side trip to Utah. After all this planning and rushing about so that Tim could go off to this seven week long Army class, we learn they don't have funding available for his food and lodging while he's away. His participation in the class has been postponed until January 2011. The good thing is he'll be around here to look after Lisa while she heals and help us get everything more settled. He'll have time to finish the walls and ceiling of the basement room we'll call the Man Cave. The bad thing is, if the Army doesn't medically discharge Lisa, they'll both be attending that class at the same time and they'll both be gone all of January and February leaving these young women with me! Hey Murphy! I'm the one who had all boys because God knew I'd probably drown a daughter! Did you forget that fact?

Has Murphy moved into this house? His being here at all wasn't part of the plan.

I think I'm going to get Lisa a big roll of bubble wrap as a belated birthday gift and I'm going to start drinking more MonaVie for my own protection. Last thing I need is the flu or a migraine.

Good night John Boy.

Good night Elizabeth.

Good night Jim Bob.

Good night Ben. . .