Why do we have to act like grown ups?

Before Sharon arrived, I told Oleg how her husband doesn't like being around us when we're together. 

Me: "He thinks we act like children."

Sharon arrived, and it was some time before she remembered she should shoot off a text to let her husband know she'd gotten to us safely. He responded immediately with information on what he and the kids were planning for dinner and entertainment, and then he ended the text with, "be safe and watch your back."

Sharon: "What the hell does that mean? Watch your back?"

Interview with a boyfriend

Darcy: "How would you feel if I went on a solo trip to Arizona?"

After what she calls "getting kicked out of Alaska," my youngest needed an uplifting experience. 

Darcy: "Everyone works to save money to travel when they're older. Then when they're older, they can't travel because of age, ailments, or something. I'm reversing that. I'm going to work to make money and travel, and then I'll come home, work, and make more money to travel again."

I encouraged her because I was a scaredy cat at her age. Heck, I'm still a travel whimp. Of course, I suggested she go somewhere I had a Wyndham, and she did--Sedona, AZ.

Because she flew out of Orlando, I decided to stay in the city while she was gone because a minimum two-night stay is required when booking. She was only going to be gone for four. Why stay, leave, and come back? I called it a writing retreat.

Then I called my friend Sharon to visit me.

Then, Oleg, who had made plans to take Darcy to the airport, decided he'd stay too. 

It was his first time meeting Sharon.

Darcy: "You know how I am with Sofie? That's Mom and Aunt Sharon times four."

We showed the kid a good time. 

Sharon: "So, tell me about yourself. This weekend is all about me learning about you. It'll be up to me whether or not you work out with Darcy. You have no idea how much pull I have with this family!"

Sharon cooked for us one night. She entertained us with stories about her adventures in scouting. The woman hikes millions of miles in all sorts of mountains, etc. 

We explored the Wyndham, played mini golf, and tried TikTok trends in the hallway.

We stayed up way too late and drank lots of wine.

When she left, I thought she'd given Oleg a passing grade.

Oleg: "Not really. When she talked to Darcy last night on the phone about being the flower girl at her wedding, she said, "I don't know if it will be with this guy or someone else," so I don't think I've passed yet. Who knows?"

Sharon does!

Happy Birthday Tom 2022

Every year, I ask Tom what kind of cake he wants for his birthday. Because, unlike most people, he isn't partial to one flavor or type. What he does enjoy is a cake I wouldn't put on a top ten list.

For a few years, it was an ice cream cake. I'm not a fan of combining the two. If you want ice cream with your cake, put a couple of scoops beside it on the plate. But, it was an easy cake to purchase.

One year, he asked for a chocolate chocolate chip cake. Not a chocolate chip cake, but a chocolate chocolate chip cake. In this house, Darcy and I are vanilla. Madison is chocolate. Tom is whatever he feels like at the time. A lot of times its carrot. 

Cakes are not meant for vegetables.

I searched high and low for a recipe that fit his description, which included glaze. I found one, and I made the damn cake. And it was delicious. Another time he asked for an upside-down fruit cake. Neither of us can remember the fruit, but this year he decided on an apricot upside-down cake.

I couldn't tell you the last time I saw an apricot. I just know I don't like it, probably having been forced to try one as a child. I suggested alternatives like peach or apple.

Tom: "It sounds so good."

I looked up recipes. He vetoed them.

Tom: "Here's one--a caramelized upside-down apricot cake. Delicious."

I whined. He gave in and decided he'd like a pie from the Village Inn down the street.

A pie? 

Not that this birthday was about me, but pie is not cake. Cake is a traditional birthday treat. It is the LAW! Unless the pie is Village Inn's peanut butter pie. Then, it's okay.

He asked me to pick up a berry fruit pie, and I agreed. Only, the morning of his birthday, I was so intent on getting outside to join my neighbor for our walk, that I completely forgot to wish him a  happy, happy. 

I decided I'd make it up to him by baking the damn apricot cake.

It wasn't bad.

But then, we also had a strawberry rhubarb pie for those not interested in my cake because Tom picked that one up on his way home from work.

Darcy: "Gee, I'm sorry I missed it...NOT!"

Happy Birthday big guy! You do put up with a lot from the women in this house!

Shaking my head at the kids today

SueG's daughter is a senior. She's deciding on colleges, and I volunteered to travel with them to Orlando to visit the University of Central Florida. That was not one of the state colleges we toured with my girls, and with Maddy down with COVID, I agreed they needed my expertise in any and all things college related.

Plus, I have the Wyndham! 

We opted to spend a few days there. Unfortunately, I was a paranoid COVID/monkey pox worrier. The pools were packed. No one wore masks. I preferred to stay locked away in our room until we absolutely had to venture outside.

Like for the college tour. We were up early, unsure how long it would take us in the Orlando work traffic. We were at IHOP right when they opened, and with bellies full, we continued to the campus. 

Sydney had instructions, which included paying for parking, and since that lot was one of those we could leave our car in, we did so. It was right across the street from where we needed to go first, so off we went.

As we walked to the crosswalk, I noticed a baby opossum in the road on the opposite side. He wasn't quite in the middle, but he was close, huddled into himself and frightened. Off to the side stood a girl attempting to coax the animal from death.

Now, Sydney attends high school at a veterinarian school where she will soon have her tech license. She zoomed in on this situation, and the two of us watched as we crossed the street.

Me: "Okay, first of all, that is a nocturnal animal which leads me to believe it is not healthy. Monkeypox!"

Sydney: "What is she doing?"

Me: "She's trying to keep it from getting run over."

Syndey: "No, what is she doing now?"

I turned. The girl had entered the road and was nudging the animal with her foot. Syndey and I were lucky we weren't run over ourselves since our attention was totally on this and not the road.

Then the girl knelt AND STROKED THE OPOSSUM'S TAIL!

I was beside myself, muttering about how monkeypox started with an animal and how these UCF kids were not the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.

Syndey was outraged!

Syndey: "I'm going over there to educate her. You never touch a wild animal."

Too late. Now, the girl was petting the opossum like a cat. ON ITS HEAD!

SueG: "No one is going anywhere. We're ignoring this and going where we need to go. She is a dumbass. Keep walking."

Me: "If she comes on this tour, I will tell her to wash her hands."

Syndey: "I really need to go over there."

But her mother shut down that request, and while we did keep walking, Sydney and I both kept watching. As if it could get worse.

It did.

The girl PICKED UP THE OPOSSUM and carried it to safety. 

Sydney went nuts. I went nuts. SueG kept telling us to keep walking. 

The girl did not come on the tour. Nor was she wounded or dead on the side of the road.  

There, also, was no opossum--probably because the student took her as a pet.

UCF is at the bottom of my list for Sydney.

Syndey: "Why? I can only help these idiots by coming here."

Good point.