Saturday, December 20, 2008

Christmas coming....continued

Darned FoxFire and Internet connection: I was on a roll when off goes my connection and I lost my blog. The only way to get it is to publish the draft and now it won't let me go in and edit.

Back to where I was. (Five years ago before I met him)

Dave was T-boned by an 18-wheeler pulling a low-boy trailer loaded with heavy, oilfield equipment. He had a head injury, a broken jaw, fractured vertebrae, whip-lash, and his right leg was crushed from about 5 inches below the hip joint all the way to the knee. He underwent extensive surgery on the leg. He was unable to work and was in physical therapy for over a year. He had to use his 401 K to live on, eventually had to file bankruptcy while he was waiting on his disability determination and workman's comp. That accident destroyed his life as he knew it. To add insult to injury, the DPS officer who worked the accident gave HIM a citation for at fault, although he CLEARLY had a head injury, had experience loss of consciousness and was unable to tell them exactly what happened, at the scene.

He went to court to fight it, Worker's Comp told him he did not need a lawyer...and since he was an honest man, he thought all he had to do was describe the accident and all would be ok. Not. The 18 - wheeler driver had pulled off the road, into the dirt right-of-way on the RIGHT side of the highway, he did not have on any lights, no blinkers, it was dusk. Dave continued down the road, he said there was so much dust from the 18-wheeler going off the right side of the road, that HE COULD NOT EVEN SEE the 18-wheeler....he thought the truck had pulled over to stop, .....instead the driver was swinging wide to turn LEFT into a side road. The Truck driver proceeded to turn left, not seeing Dave (remember all the dust) and T-boned him on the passenger side of Dave's vehicle. DPS did not cite the Truck Driver...who did not have on his running lights, or a turn signal, and who had in fact left the road-way. They did not take the driver to the ER for the STATE REQUIRED post-accident breath analyzer and drug testing....
Small community, small town judge, good-ol'-boy community, Dave's amazing inability to think he needed a lawyer. His ticket stood, so he was therefore deemed unable to sue the trucking company that HIT HIM! He lost everything! His job, his health, his faith, and almost his sanity. He went from never being late on any bill....with an excellent credit rating, to barely able to pay his morgage. He let his vehicle go back, he moved into an RV, his wife (at the time) blamed him for the change in their lifestyle...mostly she hated him because she had to go back to work. She had him placed on multiple anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. She turned him almost into a Zombie. He was miserable. She wanted out, and he gave her a divorce. HER LOSS, MY GAIN.

He took himself off all the psycho meds. He found out he was still worthy of love. Still, his macho....I'm the man, I should be earning the living .... gets in the way sometimes. It takes an act of Congress to get the man to take a muscle relaxant or a pain pill, when his leg is spasmed to the point it looks like the rod is going to break and all the pins and orthopedic paraphanilia is going to pop right out of the skin. He has refused to use his cane, to the point that he can barely walk at times. He refuses to use his handicap parking tag, we park out in Bum F.... Egypt and he is sometimes pale and almost falling down by the time we get into a store. Yet, his family, thinks he has life made....he has a wife who works, and he gets to "sit home" all day (night).

What the hell is wrong with those people? You would think that his family...who know him best, would know that being a stay at home husband is the last thing in the world Dave would ever want. He misses his job, he was an instrument technician and electrical engineer for a gas-plant in West Texas. He was also an assistant minister at a church I won't name. He lost that position because he couldn't PAY for a RENEWAL on some kind of ministry license required by their faith (WTF????) ... but, mainly the Primary Pastor couldn't use him anymore because he was not able to stand and preach, and he was having depression and not at a point where he was ready to be teaching Sunday School or going to retreats...What kinda church would not take up an offering and pay for that "required" license???? I'm good old, bible belt Baptist, our ministers get "the calling" and get ordained. I don't think they have to pay any fee based anything, to preach. He didn't get paid to preach, he preached from the heart.

Whew....got all that crap out didn't I??? ANYWAY, where I was going with the whole kit and kaboodle was that Dave doesn't want me to buy him anything...and I love buying him stuff he wants....that we can afford. He goes out of his way...everyday to make my life easy and to let me know how much he loves me and appreciates me. I truely am the most loved and luckiest woman on the face of the earth!

Christmas...a time for giving...to those we love, to those who are in need, to our church and to our community. I was I had the money that Donald Trump has...I would give it all away...

Ready or not...here it comes: Christmas

Wow, for somebody who wasn't shopping much this Christmas, I sure have been wrapping a lot of stuff! I must just be a shop-a-holic! It's like, I see something...and it's , "hummmm Dave would sure look fantastic in that". He wan't a Harley for Christmas...but that isn't happening! Rich we ain't! But, hummm, nice warm snuggly clothes, something special to go with his guitars, a little of this and a little of that!

I'm excited ... I love having an excuse to buy stuff for him, because most of the time he won't let me spend money on him. He is so paranoid because his family tells him he is a "kept" man and that I am his "sugar momma". Sometimes I just want to smack them. They try to take his man-hood away, just because he can't work anymore. He cleans house and does the yard-work. At home he can work at his speed, and when his injured leg and back start giving him too much pain he can sit down and rest. He cannot walk up and down metal staircases anymore, he cannot do oil-field lifting, he cannot walk very far without agonizing pain...yet they want to make him feel "less than the best" for something that is out of his control. Dave was on the job, working for a petroleum company, when the company vehicle was T-boned by a

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Time to Blog

Lately, it seems like there is just not enough hours in the day. Friday, I got off at 8:15 a.m. and was too tired to go to the gym. I did not think I would make the eight mile drive home. Good thing I only experienced one red light (no going to sleep at the wheel drama there, thank God). I got home, fixed me a snack (night shift had eatten early because we had a spread for Jose who is going to days), so I was 9 hours without food. I could have snacked again when everybody else was, but I am trying to be good. So I come home and blow my diet with a chicken sandwich with a beer. Then 5 seconds later I'm out like a light in the chair. I decided that I was that totally sleepy because I ate mega-carbs...pizza and cake.

I slept most of Friday away, and got up just as the sun was going down. It was certainly crisp outside. Dave was burning the branches from the mesquite tree and it smelled so good. Then we watched t.v. until the wee hours. I have been up since about 8 since I couldn't sleep (night-shift) and by the time Dave gets up I'll be sleepy again. I hate having everything backwards, but I love working nights. I love that I can look though the charts and actually get a real grasp on what is going on with my patient's, instead of just pushing pills and papers all day. I love that my co-workers are my friends...I would hang out with them anytime. I'm blessed to have a job that I love.

Dave doesn't get why I like to blog. It's my de-stresser. Who needs Xanax when they have blogger? Who needs Ativan when they can go and read other peoples blogs. I don't lead an exciting life...and I am easily entertained, LOL, I figure this beats watching info-mercials for junk I don't want.

Guess it's time to try to wake up the sleeping prince, so we can go get out Christmas tree.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Christmas Cards

Wow, I have been working non-stop for 4 hours making out Christmas cards. The only problem, is that I cannot seem to just do a christmas card without writting a note too...I just never have time to write all the letters I would like to. But, wow, when I start making out my cards, it's like, oh, I need to write her! or him! But, no body ever seems to write back. When I moved here to our new place I sent out umteen billion cards and letters. I got one letter back from one of my old friends in Beaumount...and that is all. One letter. I slaved for days handwritting dozens of letters and only one person had the manners to send a letter back. One person. Who I immediately wrote back to. One person. We can get on the internet for hours and hours...but we cannot put a pen to paper to communicate with a friend.

Speaking of communication. Dave is a genius with electrical stuff. He doesn't have an electrician license, but working at the gas-plant he was an instrumentation and electrical technician (with all their specialized training). So I have had to listen to all this electrical greek while he is figuring out what all he needs to install an outside outlet for the Christmas lights and timers. Granted, we already have an outlet, but it isn't "GFI" (?) PROTECTED and it wouldn't handle the load and the outside yada yada yada is not weather proof, and blah and blah and blah and blah....my eyes have been glazed over for at least 15 minutes...yet he continues to explain over and over what he is doing and why he is doing it...which he finishes with: "Well do you want me to wire it Hot or Cold?" Duh, as in "HOT" is fry your ass like a Christmas Turkey....and "Cold" is .... finish the hell up with your blogging and shut the computer down so I can work on the electrical outlet..... HUMMMMMMMMMMMM....how much insurance did I say I took out on you???? Just kidding....and on that note folks...guess I got to shut er down.

Have a great day.

Monday, December 1, 2008

And a Shoe Went to Flying

Ok, I have now officially vowed never, never, never to go shopping on Black Friday again. Yes, I was lured by the possibility of some great bargains...yes I was lured by the promise of a very inexpensive, greatly discounted (if you could find it in the right size and color) leather Jacket I wanted for my honey for Christmas. Maybe it was the working 12 hours and then heading straight to the store, but somehow it was more than I bargained for. I'm looking at jackets and a beautiful cream colored dress shoe comes flying over the racks and nearly hits me. I cannot understand such frantic intensity for shopping. Darn, if that pair of shoes was so great, why is one on one side of the aisle and the other over there assulting my head???? Then I get home and later hear about some poor worker getting trampled in Wal-Mart of all places. Like, Wal-Mart is gonna run out of stuff to sale...no happening. And, Toyz-R-Us...who ever heard of people being murdered over toys. What in the hell is wrong with people. What happened to Christmas Spirit, what happened to manners, when did everything become me, mine, and I want. Somebody needs to spank these people!