My Now Favorite Separatist

Saturday was work day at Marketplace with Jerry, who used to head the dairy/frozen food department there himself and knows quite a few tricks! And it comes in handy for me who although I (mostly) know what I'm doing felt unusually tired. Four-thirty -- well, it was actually four forty-five when we got out after having been there since eight -- could not seem to come fast enough, but at least our truck delivery was small. And by the time I'd gotten home I was pleasantly surprised to see Martha who'd been home for the day with the kids had mowed the lawn -- and our new neighbors (I'd already met Tony but had the pleasure of meeting his wife Heather who'd just gotten here from Arizona for the first time, along with their two English bulldogs Charlie and Raja) were apologizing for not having mowed theirs yet! (They got theirs done Monday, by the way.) Compared to how we tend to be on household cleaning and tending, we reassured them it was no big deal!


Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. We all certainly did enjoy church, and Pastor Janet gave the sermon at our final summer service (where we've had one service at 9 am and next week will go back to two worship services, one at 815 and the other at 1045 am) before driving her daughter Krista back to college in Minnesota. During coffee hour one of our Lutheran women was looking for volunteers to help put together baby kits with diapers and soap and onesies and once we reviewed how to put the kit together with safety pins, many got together to help out. We had thirty six of these kits so it did not take long to do, and once Sarah and Jeffrey and Josceline and Caitlin (a friend of theirs who stays over at Martha's parents' house sometimes) watched some put together, about a dozen adults and they did a great job on them. From Bethany Lutheran, the kits go to Lutheran World Relief in Saint Paul and from there are repackaged and shipped where they need to go with prayer and care.


After leaving church Martha and I agreed to go with the kids to Ground Round for lunch, where we pay what the kids weigh for their meal from 11 - 2 on Sundays. (Sarah's at 90 and Jeffrey's at 70, by the way.) And then we got home ... and to be honest, I remember sleeping through most of the day! Martha and the kids playing their respective electronic doodads and me reading -- at 436 pages in hardback, it's a weekend leave-me-alone kind of read -- John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard's young adult novel Conquest (ISBN 9781476757124) about the aftermath of an alien invasion of Earth. Unlike most series where humanity frequently has it ground into their heads that they're an inferior race, the primary race of the Illyri Empire (golden, thin humanoids) actually regards us as the most advanced race they've ever encountered, the one most like them. If only we'd traveled through the wormhole at the edge of our solar system first ...


I suppose I can share more about that tomorrow, for it's getting late. Since the first Sunday of September (yesterday) the only work I had to do was deliver the papers along our route -- it was my turn -- both Martha and I had some later errands to run while the kids were home with us. And it was so beautiful outside that Jeffrey asked to do something with me while Mom and Sarah had some "bonding time" after we had helped them clean their rooms. YES, I realize that those are chores I believe eight- and seven-year-olds should be able to do themselves, but we also have items to donate and throw out and it's not always easy to determine which is which ... So Mr. J and I went for a walk to Longfellow's playground and along the way played "the live version of Super Mario Brothers" with him as Mario and me as Yellow Toad, jumping and "growing" and shooting along the way! Treated him at the area Loaf 'n Jug too, saw a metalsmith friend's aluminum-crafted white king from a chess set, and headed in for dinner, read for Reading at Home, and went to bed.


Dr. Albertson whom I saw for the first time today for a checkup regarding my type-2 diabetes is my now favorite separatist. Most doctors I end up seeing for that seem perfectly willing to solve any problems I have with more meds. But not today. Martha was with me for the 9 am appointment and not only did I get some extra Lantus (it's a type of insulin I take at night) free, not only did I get an ok on my not having taken Humulog (another insulin) that I ran out of and we couldn't afford at the time to replace, but also I've got a newer med that should cut out my needs for several others. I can SO live with that, if it works. And it will work, I am confident it will! I'll lose more weight, I'll eat healthier AND MY FAMILY WILL HELP ME DO IT BY EATING HEALTHIER THEMSELVES, and these meds will be a memory.


I won't need treatment, I will have life. David