I have been going through some of my old drafts that I never posted over the years (there are over a hundred) and I think I will post some that I find notable every once in awhile. They date back to 2010.
This one features my grandfather Jason, who was still alive at the time, and I was in my “gap months” between employment. About a month after this was originally written I got hired at the job I am still at, 7.5 years later. This post, which I don’t remember writing, made me feel bittersweet.
Post Title: You Need to Ensure That
Date: around 7/1/10
I am leading a life of leisure.
Not on purpose. BUT let’s face it, there are some benefits to being out of work and on the dole:
Sleeping late every day!
Last night I went to Jason’s as usual because it was Wednesday and we all go over there and have dinner. Jason even remembered not to eat before we all got there, so that was nice. When I got there, my uncle Joel was already there mowing the lawn. And when I got inside, Jason said, “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, plopping on the couch. “It’s Wednesday. Time for my usual mooching of dinner.”
“It’s Wednesday?” Jason seemed perplexed. Then he thought about it a little more and sort of remembered that my mom was bringing over dinner.
“Did you eat?” I asked. The last two weeks he had forgotten we were coming over and had already eaten.
“No,” he said.
“Good.”
Jason is 83.
My mom eventually showed up with the dinner, a hot-weather meal of grilled ham-n-cheese, applesauce, and macaroni salad. I still look at macaroni salad suspiciously, even ten years later. Even my mom’s. But mostly I am suspicious of my other grandmother’s macaroni salad. It is delicious. But I now check the mayo bottle in the fridge for expiry dates every time I’m over there. Lest I land in the hospital with food poisoning and randomly get diagnosed with a 25 pound tumor again.
I digress.
So then my cousin and aunt show up (the rest of Joel’s family) and we had dinner. Jane brought me a cake for my birthday which is on Monday, balloons, and presents! I wasn’t expecting all that, so that was really nice. They got me movie tickets and my cousin even got me a Starbucks card.
Then my mom started talking about going to Costco because Jason needed some more paper plates and napkins, and since I like Costco and don’t belong to it, I said I would like to go with her. I like the free samples.
My mom takes Jason to the doctor now, and the doctor said he was getting pretty skinny, so told him that he needed to start drinking Ensure every day to get the calories. You can get Ensure at Costco for pretty cheap.
So this morning, having slept late, and still in my pajamas, I get up and am in the den checking my email when my mom pulls into the carport. It’s like, a little after ten.
I had completely forgotten that I said I would go with her to Costco.
But, I was ready to go in a few minutes and we headed over there. It was pretty busy, but I guess it is a holiday weekend (Melissa’s Birthday Extravaganza Weekend; it’s a national holiday).