As is the custom now I got sent home from work at 10 am. Only today I didn't go home, I set out to find another job. I went to the unemployment office (where two other people who work where I work were doing the same thing, which should say something about our employer) thinking they might give me some direction. As it turns out there was only one direction, not many as I had hoped, and that direction led me straight to a 2 pm appointment to take a test to be a census taker. I had a few hours to kill before 2 pm.
I went and saw a friend whom I hadn't seen in a long time. It was nice to see her a laugh at stupid or sad things for a while. Then I got a newspaper and looked for other jobs (there are none unless you're a nurse or something that has to do with chickens or machinery, and I want nothing to do with either; nurse wouldn't be so bad...). I went to lunch by myself and thumbed through the rest of the paper. It was about 1:00 pm. As I was thumbing I came across a list of community events for the day. On that list was an Alzheimer's Family Support Group. My mother has Alzheimer's, she also lives hundreds of miles away and I have a horrible time being so far from her and Dad. I thought it would be nice to talk with some other people who are dealing with the same disaster. Then I thought it would be nice if I could make it to the meeting. It started at 2:00 pm. I finished my lunch and hurried out the door.
There were only about four people at the meeting, all women, women much older than me. Most of them were there for their parents but one woman was there for her husband. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was 57. The woman said that that was about seven years ago. I loved listening to her talk and how she handled her new life with this disease. It helped me understand not only what is going on with Mom but also what it's like to be Dad. Dad, I know you're probably reading this so I won't say a whole lot, but she was really great to talk to. She also quit giving him the Alzheimer's medication because it didn't seem to be doing any good, but she gives him Good 'n' Plenty's-the pink ones-in it's place because he liked taking it - they work a lot better. It was a great group and I hope I get sent home from work next week so that I can go again.
I left the meeting early so I could go take my census test. It was fun like in "Alice's Restaurant" when they're all in jail, or were they getting drafted?, I can't remember that but they were playing with the pencils and stuff and having a great time, only in my version it was pens, cheap pens that said "U.S. Government" on the barrel, that I thought I would get to keep but didn't. Another, different from those mentioned above, guy who works where I work was also there. We laughed about how crazy the economy is and how we both ended up at an unemployment office in a tiny room with a tiny guy asking for his government pens back after such bright prospects in our younger days. I ended up getting a 94% on my test, a little pamphlet about why the census is good, and assurance that I would be contacted if I pass the background check (which I will, Mom and Dad) and a census taker is needed in my area. I'm holding my breath, U.S. Government.
Then I picked up Story and came home. It was a pretty night, my favorite kind actually. It was really nice out today, nearly 70 degrees, so it was warm. There were storm clouds on one side of the sky and the setting sun on the other which made the light really soft and pretty and I opened the windows so the rainy air could blow in. We ate some supper, he shoved some trains down his shirt for a while, as he likes to do these days, we went to church, came home and now he's in bed and I'm sitting in my bed listening to the thunder and wind outside, which is my favorite thing to do at night.
This is not much of a story, and probably not very interesting to read, but I wrote it because I started off this morning with no plan other than to have a good, productive day. Usually I try to plan everything out and make it all fit like a Tetris game, I know some of you know what I'm talking about. My Mom would say that it was a good day because I "set my intention" on a good day. My church friends would say that it was a good day because I allowed God to be in control. I think that it's both, or maybe they're the same thing. Whatever it is I'm going to sleep thankful tonight, after being sent home from work after only two hours, sitting for hours at an unemployment office, eating lunch by myself, and going to a support group for family members dealing with a dread disease, and I just wanted to share that with all of you. Life is amazing, so are my favorite jeans and favorite shirt, I feel like, in wearing them both on the same day, I've found some sort of formula for greatness. I'm still probably going to space them out though.
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