Pool Party

That wasn’t the main purpose, but that’s how it ended for the
host and me.

Newcomers Club has their year end potluck every June. This year it was
at Nanci’s. Her gorgeous home filled end to end with tables of all
kinds and women forty and up, some ridiculously adorned, vying for the
highest praise in the crazy hat competition, everything from a
long-necked bird to kitchen gadgets.

Mine was a halo. Everyone thought it was very appropriate. I hope it
wasn’t because it was made of toilet paper that I had twisted then
knit into a band and pinned together with my vintage rhinestone flower.

The nice thing about having a party of about forty-five women is that
we all help to clean up. Nanci inherited a few items not claimed by
anyone, and her floors were a mess, but almost everything else was had
been washed and dried and put away before everyone left.

Then came the best part. It had been years since I’d been in a sauna.
We sat on the “fat butt” benched, reclined, and talked about the party
and family and living in the country; then dashed out into the cool
air and into the cold pool.

Brrrr doesn’t quite cover it. It was just plain freezing. But only for
a minute. Then it was just cold. And it felt great.

We did the whole process over again, sat outside and chatted, feeling
comfortably warm in jacket weather, inside for a glass of water, and
home.

My neck hadn’t felt that good in a long time, and, as Nanci promised,
I slept very well.

These little diversions are what help me live through my reality. I
just got off the phone with my oldest. He sounds flat. Like a kid in a
war zone. Like a redeemed child soldier. He found crack in the
bathroom of the homeless shelter, there was a commotion, people got
kicked out, some left. Now he wants to find a shower he can use
without risk of assault.

I feel a slight tinge of guilt, but I know that my son’s homelessness
is not my choice. That’s the part that really stings.

Normal

“Why do they call it the glove compartment? You don’t put your gloves in there.”

Guess who said this. A young child? Maybe a nosy adolescent girl? How about a musical genius teenage guy?

If you guessed the last answer, you are correct! Here is your prize! (handing you a million dollars)

I don’t know, he just suddenly comes out with these things at 11:30 at night. Now he’s playing some beautiful piano piece that I know but can’t name on his six foot Yamaha grand piano.

I met a young mom today and her young son. At three he’s reading and knows three languages. He talks your ear off and he’s so brilliant and entertaining that you don’t mind at all. And talk about cute! But I feel for this mom. Having a genius is so enormously difficult, you can’t imagine. She doesn’t know this yet. Maybe I should have told her…but she wouldn’t believe me anyway. I made the same mistake.

But doesn’t everyone want a genius child? Uhm, I hope not. Each genius comes with a set of difficulties that can range from a speech impediment to bipolar. Genius doesn’t come without a cost.

I have raised the latter of these scenarios. He also was reading at three. He used to read the newspaper before going to kindergarten. School was so boring for him that the teacher could not give him enough workbooks to keep him busy while the other mere mortal students caught up with him. He got into trouble and I took him out. As in homeschooled him.

At home he practically exploded intellectually, and actually did end up exploding emotionally. Having the curse of being firstborn, I wonder that he turned out as well as he did, but to do it again I wouldn’t have listened to so many doctors. They generally don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to psychiatric conditions.

My son managed to become a Linux expert, and I mean expert, but he suffers horribly. I wish he was normally stupid like the rest of us.

My youngest is still playing his piano. The other day he had a meltdown. A nasty one. So bad blood actually spurted from his nose. I’m still tired from it, but he’s pretty much recovered.

Okay, now this piece I recognize as Beethoven’s Ode to Joy symphony. Such beautiful music I get to enjoy. But I wish he was normally stupid like the rest of us.

I don’t understand why parents want their kids to be so smart. It’s not that important. Normal is better. No, normal is beautiful, healthy and productive. I like normal.

I know, I know

I did plan to write much more often, but, hey, you try being a single mom with special needs kids, one homescooling, with a permanent neck injury and trying to get this sorry excuse for a house in some livable condition. I’m a busy lady.

Which means I have to go for now…

Great Show

What a night. What an awesome concert put on by the music camp, crowned with a wildly active thunderstorm. Beautiful.

Everyone is so impressed with my homeschooled son. All the counsellors said he’s such a great kid. They were just as impressed with his personality as his piano playing. The camp director, a professional jazz pianist, and his piano teacher, a professional organist and accompaniest, want to discuss his very promising future with me. I’m looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

When the choir director asked me how he relates to others “at school or wherever,” I was proud to say he is homeschooled. Apparently, he is very socially adept despite his lack of socialization. Imagine that.

Pardon me a little Mamastrut, but I’m so proud of him. He has gone through so much, faced so many challenges, it was wonderful to hear such talented people paying him such honours. Good for you, Bah Bah!

Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel, Same Bat Place

Sorry, I think I got the order wrong there.

Amazing creatures, those things. In my recent research, I’ve learned tha bats are the only flying mammal, they are gentle creatures, they are not flying rodents, their excretement carries a disease that can kill humans, a single brown bat can easily capture 600 mosquitoes in an hour, a baby bat is called a pup, they are usually bred in the winter and weaned in the summer, they can live more than 10 years, they often return to the same roosting site year after year, and some species have excellent vision.

Holy encyclopedia, Batman!

Holy Rubber Gloves, Batman!

Nothing like catching a bat to get you going in the morning. Early morning. Very early morning. As in 4 a.m.

I hear the dog stirring in the bedroom above me. Within seconds, my Youngest Son comes bounding in my room.

“There’s a bat in my room.”

“A what?”

“A bat.”

“A bat?”

“Yes, a bat. Brady’s trying to chase it.”

Oh, great. Nice. Wonderful. Whatever happened to that guy who was supposed to seal up the house before we moved in?

Second Son, Youngest Son and I stood around the room for about half an hour trying to figure out how to get this thing out. Meantime, Youngest Son took photos and video of the little bugger as it rested on the white wall and fluttered about our heads. Thankfully, none of us are squeamish or easily frightened. The bat was definitely more freaked out than we were. We all found this little darling very fascinating. I don’t know why, but I think it was a female.

We examined her closely as she sat on the newly drywalled wall just above our heads. She had a soft velvety coat of deep brown fur and very daintily pointed ears that wiggled around not unlike the fox terrier watching intently below her. She lifted her little head for a look around, then decided to make for the scent of fresh air.

She fluttered like a lumbering butterfly across the room and lighted on the screen of the open window, no doubt hoping to escape into the cool night air. Finding no way out, she crawled into the corner of the window, likely awaiting rescue.

I came downstairs to hopefully discover how to get her out. I found this article, www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Bat-in-Your-House:

1. Open your door or window. The bat is looking for a way out. Open a door and leave it open to give the flying bat a clear path. The bat may sense the fresh air and fly out of your house.
2. Allow the bat to land. Stay out of its way and watch for it to land.
3. Pick up the bat if necessary. If the bat lands low, toss a towel carefully over the bat. It will not be able to take off again. The towel should cover the bat without causing injury.
4. Scoop up the towel. Keep the bat wrapped inside. You should expect to hear clicking noises when the bat is frightened. It is best to presume that the bat might try to bite through the towel, so put on gloves or oven mitts to be safe.
5. Coax the bat down from high places. If the bat lands high on your wall or ceiling, place a coffee can or plastic container over the bat. Slide the lid of the container cautiously between the bat and wall. Keep the container as close to the wall as possible. Do not pinch the bat.
6. Carry the towel or container outside. Set the trapped bat on the ground some distance from your house. Close your door so that the bat does not accidentally fly inside again.
7. Remove the towel or container carefully, so that you can see the bat on the ground. Walk away and watch. The bat will attempt a few hops, then become airborne. Bats have some difficulty taking off from the ground.
8. Help the bat if it seems fatigued. If the bat is too tired or scared to take off, you may want to place it near a tree. The bat will climb the tree where it can drop into flight.
9. Take care using your hands directly. Some people find it easier to use their hand to pick up a resting bat from the floor or wall. You should wear a leather glove. Do not squeeze too tightly. Place the bat on the trunk of a tree. It will grip the bark and climb away.

Tips

* You may want to wet the towel before throwing it over the bat.
* A fishing net is inappropriate to trap a bat. The bat can fit through the large webbing. A butterfly net is a good choice.
* A tennis racket or baseball bat will injure or kill the bat. Please don’t use this under any circumstances.
* Bats do not build nests in your hair. A sick or confused bat may accidentally bump into your head. This is undesirable to you and the bat.
* Bats can enter your house through very, very small cracks in your roof, chimney, fireplace, furnace, attic, vents or windows. The most likely entry is through loose areas in your soffit, the edge of your roof. Once a bat is in your house, it is unlikely they will find that tiny crack again to exit.
* Most house bats are brown. They have extremely sharp little teeth. They use their teeth to eat insects. Bats in your neighborhood will reduce the insect population. Build bat houses nearby.
* Remove any pets to reduce the chance of them coming into contact with the bat, or causing more stress to the bat.

Warnings

* A very small percentage of bats may have the disease rabies. An unhealthy bat bumps into walls, furniture, people and objects or is unable to fly. Avoid a bat on the ground. Rabies can be transmitted by biting.
* Bat droppings, guano, can grow a fungus that can infect a human. Histoplasmosis occurs when mold spores are inhaled. Symptoms are like pneumonia and may lead to very serious complications, even death. This problem is not likely to occur just because you see a bat in your house. If you have a bat colony in your house, you should have the bats removed and the roosting area sanitized.
* On one occasion, a man opened his door to allow a bat to escape. Another bat flew in through the open door after hearing the sound of the bat inside the house. Regardless, this still seems to be the simplest method.

We opted for the towel and thick gloves method. Second Son donned the bright orange rubber gloves and overlayed his cupped hands with a thick towel. He slowly made his way over to the window, carefully brought his armed hands up and over the frightened bat, causing her to squeal and wriggle in panic. Second Son remarked, “Holy cow,” as he pressed to grip the bat more tightly. The poor bat wriggled and squealed and clicked, not knowing we were trying to rescue her.

Second Son managed to engulf all but the bat’s little butt within this trap. I covered her entirely with the ends of the towel and we hurried down the stairs and out the front door to the boulevard.

We had intended to fling the towel toward the tree, but it didn’t turn out that way. When Second Son threw the towel up, it got a bit tangled and just dropped to the ground. In the pre-dawn dimness, we couldn’t tell where the bat ended up. We gently pulled the towel to unfold it and then drag it across the grass until we had lifted it up. It hung limply with no sign of any life form. When we were satisfied that the bat had been deposited, we brought the towel in to be washed and put the rubber gloves away.

Upon careful inspection at sunrise of the area where we dropped the bat, I am happy to report she got away.

We did what we could at five in the morning to seal up at least the upstairs. Second Son found a wide open gap that once held a light switch. We duct taped it shut. We also finished duct taping the huge gap left by the previous owners in Second Son’s closet. He had stapled vapour barrier over the spot, but now, after the bat came in, followed my advice to seal the thing up tightly.

This house is anything but sealed up. Today will be spent trying to figure out where the bat got in, if there are more in the attic, and how to fix this problem so it doesn’t happen again, both for the bats’ sakes and ours.

But first, zzzzzzzzz…..

Don’t ask me Why

Late last night, my son went for a walk,
   Don't ask me why,
To the park,
   Don't ask me why.
He thought he'd go barefoot for a bit,
   Don't ask me why,
So he took his shoes off and left them while he walked,
   Don't ask me why.
When he looked back, a guy and girl were there,
   Don't ask me why.
They picked up his shoes,
   Don't ask me why,
Filled them with sand from the playground,
   Don't ask me why,
And tossed them in the pool,
   Don't ask me why.
They threw them in the shallow end,
   Don't ask me why,
And one floated about,
   Don't ask me why,
And the other landed on the rim of the pool,
   Don't ask me why,
Completely missing the huge public pool,
   Don't ask me why.
My son stood there and watched them,
   Don't ask me why,
Just a few feet away,
   Don't ask me why,
But the two teens didn't even see him there,
   Don't ask me why.
Next morning, a man from the city was there,
   Don't ask me why,
So I asked him to fish the shoes out for me, and he did,
   Don't ask me why.
I chucked the sand back into the playground.
Very little of it came out of the shoes in the pool
Because they'd packed it in so well
And the water packed it in even more,
So their little act of vandalism rendered no reward
Save my son having to walk home barefoot.
That's what happens when you leave your shoes
   lying around in a park.
      Don't ask me why.

They were good shoes.
If I had no conscience like those teens,
I would've brought them home!
   Don't ask me why.

Today’s accomplishments

This shouldn’t take long.

Read more II Chronicles, sent some emails, went to physio, it killed, went to a couple of markets, made spaghetti and meatballs for supper, finished watching Eight Below, took psycho-dog out for a walk to the sidewalk. The girl next door and her friend came here to play music with my youngest son. Yeah, right… I wonder if he knows about her crush.

Hmmm, make a poem about today. It’ll have to include something about the heat! Let’s see what I can do…in the next post.

Family Funny

On our way to the mall, as my two youngest sons, 19 and 15, discussed important life issues, the older quoted with an authoritative voice of instruction, “But the first shall be last, and the last shall be first,” to which the younger promptly responded, “And the middle shall stay there.”

Thank goodness I wasn’t driving. That would’ve been hard doubled over laughing with tears running down my cheeks!

Today

I hope to take it a bit easy. I’m sore, especially my arm. I have physio, need to do some groceries, and I hope to call REEP today to book an assessment. Otherwise, I need to rest. Tomorrow is piano and bringing youngest to his Dad’s and oldest here, so it’ll be a long day. Supposed to be brutally hot the next few days, too. Yuck.

Do I sound a bit morose today? I’m not. Just tired, that’s all.

Have you ever gotten a piece of facial tissue in your eyelid? It hurts! I’m sneezing with a tissue on my nose, and as I sneeze, I squeeze my eyes shut and the very tip of the corner of the tissue got ripped off and caught in my eyelid. The scary part is I can’t find it! I don’t know if got shredded to little bits in there or what. My eye keeps watering and is irritated, but it doesn’t hurt now, at least.

Only me.