So Bad

Hubby's been having a really bad 48 hours.

First, he drove the boys to the park for a little "pee and poop" before we left for an evening out.  He got out of the pink Lincoln (211,000 miles on it I noted yesterday) and put the car in neutral instead of park.  As he was standing with Luie's leash in his hand, he realized the car was rolling backward.  Because Hubby really doesn't walk anymore, he had merely exited the car and left the driver's car door open.  You can guess what happened to the door as it rolled down a slight hill -- not very far actually and the car itself wasn't damaged.  Just the car door -- so it won't open or completely close.  This means the interior lights remain on and you can't get in from the driver's side.

Second, he came home, washed up, changed clothes and we headed out in the Lincoln to have dinner with our friend, Lou, at Houlihan's on Shawnee Mission Parkway.  Lou's wife couldn't come so we decided it would be nice to treat Lou to dinner.  Hubby had meatloaf but since it was Thursday night, Lou and I opted for the petit steak which we could get with $3.00 lobster tails.  It was a yummy meal which Hubby and I finished off with strawberry shortcake and Lou had himself a new type of beer which was also on special for half price.  Then the bill came.  Hubby had forgotten to change his wallet from his dirty shorts into his clean pair.  He was penniless.  I ended up paying the bill.

Next we drove up a couple of blocks to the beautiful Old Mission Methodist Church where we were attending our first concert of the season with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra.  Because Hubby has been feeling better we opted for season tickets this year.  Hubby, forced to slide across the entire car to get out on the passenger side, let me out in front of the church.  I gave him his ticket while I went in and claimed our seats.  At the church the seating is not reserved and I knew Hubby needed an aisle seat near the back so I wanted to stake our position early.  Eventually Hubby showed up but in the meantime he had lost his ticket.  He claimed he simply pointed at me and growled, "that's my wife" and the ticket taker let him in.

Banged up car, no money, and lost ticket all within the span of six hours.

This morning, Hubby rose early and took the Lincoln over to his mechanic friends.  They hammered on the door and got it closed.  Then they decided they should have actually opened it so they could see if they could find a used door as a replacement and they hammered it back open. Once again the interior lights do not go off.

This took until 2 p.m.  but eventually Hubby came home, door still broken, to take me to the grocery for the fruit he craves with every meal.  We ran out of fresh melon on Wednesday but I made do yesterday since we were eating dinner out last night. I gathered the dogs, got them in the car, Hubby went to turn the key to start the engine and the ignition broke (now I'm not sure it was the ignition -- but it was the spot where you put the key in the hole and turn).  Now, as well as the door not opening, the car wouldn't turn off.

We were very low on gas so Hubby dropped me at the store where I loaded up on fruit and veggies and he and the boys went off to put a couple of gallons in the tank.  He took us back at the house and drove off to re-meet the mechanics at his trusty garage.  It was three more hours before I saw him again, dragging and dropping and cussing a blue streak.

"The entire steering column will have to be removed on that *&***^%% car." he moaned as he limped to the bed. "G**d** door and now the g**d*** steering column!  I hate the g**d** car!"

I brought him his salad, a couple of hunks of cantaloupe, his salad dressing, and some water.  Hubby is trying valiantly to diet but he can't eat lettuce (or any green leafy veg due to the coumadin blood thinner).  We make salads from cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, boiled eggs, a bit of cheese, some beets, and lots of onions.  Then he dives in on fresh melon.  He put his salad on the nightstand and dug in with his fork -- and turned the entire salad upside down of the floor.

One look at his face told me he had reached his physical and mental limit for the day.  "Go away.  Just leave it to me.  Get up and leave this room and go away," I told him.  And he did.

I gathered a new bowl, the soup ladle, and a heap of paper towels and rescued what I could.  The dogs licked up a lot of grated cheese and egg.  I added some new fresh veggies from the frig and brought him a new salad, a bottle of ice cold water, and found him sitting hunched over in the computer chair, looking morose.

"I'm really tired," he said softy.  Then reaching out he took his new salad and dug in.  

One can only hope that tomorrow his life will improve immeasurably.