Sorry to take so long. Life does have its twists and turns. Let me start by finishing what I promised. File it under "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity". I'm only work one day a week. TWICE in the same week people had accidently locked themselves out of the home. In BOTH cases, the front door was a Smart Key. Naturally, I ask about the back door. We go look and, in BOTH cases, the doorknob on the back door was the kind you put on the bathroom door. The kind that have a little hole in the knob and you use a flat piece of metal, ANY flat piece of metal that fits in the hole, to unlock the door. It is secure in name only. To top it off, both homes were in very high-end neighborhoods. Just going to prove, there are some folks with more dollars than sense.
Helene and Milton, both left us unscathed. A lot of yard debris, but no damage. Mom rode out both storms at home, and Helene passed far enough away that she didn't even know there was a hurricane. Milton gave her some wind and rain, but no big deal. My brother, who lives just north of Tampa, got hammered twice. I have pictures. To give you an idea, the waterline mark on his wife's Jeep is just above the front grill. Both her car and his truck drowned. There was about a foot of water in the bedroom which sits a couple of feet above ground level. If it is below waist level, it is badly damaged or destroyed. All drywall below 4 feet has to be replaced. You can imagine the state of the furniture.
I regret to say Mom has taken a turn for the worse. Physically she can still get around and take care of herself, but how do I say this? She knows who she is. She knows where she is. She (usually) knows who is around her and what is going on. She has no sense of time. She forgets to eat. The family finally decided that she just can't be on her own anymore. She didn't like that. It came to a crisis when my nieces came down from SC for a visit. Some things happened and the nieces offered to take Mom back home with them. One of them just went through this kind of thing with her husband's mother, so they are set up for it. Her sister lives with them and they have two teenagers running around, so no shortage of help. Mom wanted to stay home. At one point they gave her the option of dropping her off at my place on the way back to SC. She said fine. It's an hour and a half from her home to mine. Before they were halfway here Mom was asking why they were in the car and where were they going? They "reminded" her that she wanted to see the great grandkids and they were headed north.
"See Grandmom, we even have your suitcase in the back."
That was fine by her. Before they got halfway the Atlanta Mom was complaining that she didn't remember the trip taking this long before. It is a blessing to me. I was getting ready to quit my job and move in with her, if she refused to move in with us. It would be hard, but it could be done. And it is Mom. But she is now in a place where she is safe, secure, cared for and surrounded by people she loves and love her in return.
It seems the boss is having second thoughts again. After being cut back to just one day a week, he suddenly wants me back for two days a week, but they are Sat. and Sun. AND Sunday will be spent in Ocala. I can use the hours, and the boss is talking about a bump in salary on the days I'm down south. The wife doesn't like me driving that much. I'm thinking I can use the money and since I'm still just part-time he can afford a raise, so it is easier to keep track of my salary. nice thing is that I've got a couple of weeks to mull it over and with the election this coming Tuesday, it may all be a moot point by the weekend. Time will tell.