I went to pick up the kids from Tommy's house in Richfield. It was too icy to drive there yesterday - especially with my very bald tires. (It's on my list.)

I was surprised by the quantity of snow that was on the ground there. Apparently they had 3-5 inches yesterday. Whereas we, here in Faribault, got nada. We got a lot of rain, ice, sleet, and slush. No snow. So the roads were a virtual skating rink. The kids missed school today, but the frustration comes from Greyson's NOT calling or emailing his teachers, and he missed his appointment with the advisors where they were all going to meet with his ethics teacher! He "forgot" to contact them. I even reminded him, but no.

So anyway, I'm frustrated with that. You can lead a horse to water and all that. These are the times, which are frequent and nagging, that I would LOVE to have him live with his father or his grandparents and let them try their hand. It ain't easy!

Anyway, so tomorrow I have to bring him to school early and carry him to his advisors office to make him make a new appointment. I'll do that right after I give him his bottle and burp him. (At least I'm not bitter.)

The boys were at Carolyn's all weekend and didn't mention that their grandfather had died three weeks ago. So weird. So I talked to Carolyn and told her. She's so sweet and offered to do anything she could to help. Nothing really she CAN do, but it was nice of her to offer.

I also ran into my dad's neighbor's at McDonalds. I was running in to return my Redbox movies at the McD's in Richfield and there they were. I talked to Maria for a while. She was telling me that her dad died eleven years ago. He was on his first day of work riding on the back of the garbage truck - you know, where they used to ride to get the cans? And he fell off. She said he fell asleep and never woke up. I'm not sure exactly what she meant. I assume she meant a coma. Anyway, they brought his body back to Mexico, but because of all the paperwork, her dad was in the funeral home for a month before they could ship him. He was forty eight years old. So basically, she wins. Next to that, I got nothin. She said to let her know when we'd be at Dad's house and she would make us some food. (Mexican...yum.) Such a sweetheart. I can see why Dad liked them so much. It was funny, because when they first moved in, he was so bigoted about it. Upset that the Mexican family was moving in next door. But then soon he was fixing their bikes, and dragging the kids over to do stuff. They've been there for fourteen years. So by now, the kids, who are 14, 12 and 5, are part of Dad's extended family. They were so crushed when he died. Maria reminded me of how Dad used to always snowplow EVERYONE's driveway after a snowstorm. And of course, he would make us shovel everyone's walks. LOL I'd forgotten that.

I talked a few weeks ago to Dad's former neighbor, Lucy, and she said, and I quote, "Your dad was such a good neighbor to Chuck Knoss and I." And then later, "Chuck Knoss thought a lot of him." Um...how many people do you know who refer to their late husband by his first and last name? When she said it, my immediate reaction was to tell Dad. LOL He would have gotten a kick out of that and probably would have been able to explain it as well. We ALL called him Chuck Knoss. Like it was one word. But his WIFE??? Weird.

I have to call the high school tomorrow, too, to let them know that it's all my fault that Gabe didn't make it back for school today. They don't open until 8, and I'm already hard at work by then. Today at lunch we did Meals on Wheels. I can't BELIEVE how frickin' hot they keep those assisted living apartments. I think that's why they are so expensive - the heating bill. When I lived with my Gramma, she also kept the house at tropical temperatures. And it didn't matter if you were two rooms away from her, she could sense when you were near the thermostat, "GET AWAY FROM THERE!" she'd scream at you. And you would be standing there in front of the dial, fingers poised to make the very necessary adjustment, thinking, "HOW THE HELL DOES SHE KNOW I'M HERE!?!??!" Makes no sense. She had the senses of a dog. Like how do they know when someone will be home in fifteen minutes? How did the dogs know that Marv would be coming around the corner three minutes before he actually did? God only knows. Gramma probably would have.

Something in my room REEEKED of pee, and I couldn't figure it out. Well, today I did. It was a towel in the bathroom. I was on the pot, and the cat was sniffing it in a particular way, so I grabbed it and YES that little hairy bastard had peed on it. It was dry but stinky. so I threw him out of the room. Now it's just me, Tigger and the two dogs. There's barely room on the bed for me!