Chapter 15

Good Evening,

Hope everyone is doing okay.  So far so good here.  I haven’t left the house in close to a week.  Mama is starting to weird out on me.  She needs to get out and just can’t understand how I can stay with no problems.  So, I have a pretty good idea that I’ll have no choice but to go out tomorrow.  Besides we do need to hit the grocery store.  I’ve managed to avoid Wal-Mart, but there’ll be no more avoiding the place. 

Jerry is sleeping and Mama is fixing a chicken sandwich for her supper. 

She’ll eat in her room watching The Waltons and fall asleep with her cat beside her in the recliner.  She’s had that cat for 20 years. I really dread the day that Miss Sassy passes away.  Mama really grieves for our pets.  That’s how Miss Sassy came to her.  Her other cat had passed away and she just cried for days.   “NO MORE PETS,” was about all she would say, and she grieved so deeply that Leslie and I had no idea how to help her.  So against her wishes, I got a kitten.  Mama and I had a habit of getting cashew chicken for supper, and while she wasn’t paying attention I almost got the little thing in the house, I just wasn’t quick enough.  When she saw it all she had to say is “WHAT IS THAT?”  With me being a little ornery (okay, a lot ornery and a smarty pants) I explained that it was a baby cat.  That didn’t help at all.  (Bad girl.)  I asked her, since she didn’t want it, if she would keep it a couple days until I could find it a home.  That did it!!  Yeah, that’s the 20 year-old cat in her room now.  If the lifespan of these cats are 20 years, they’ll outlive all of us.  So, who wants a cat, and how many do you will you take?  Just kidding.  She’ll get a switch and whoop me with it.

I don’t spend a lot of time with my nieces and nephews (Leslie’s kids).  Loren is now 27, and Michaela will be 19 in November.  Loren is a manager at a grocery store in Ozark.  Michaela is a freshman at OTC.  Just looking at her math book made my head hurt.  Apparently, they start teaching algebra in elementary school.  So, the college-level stuff is quite advanced for me.  There were numbers, symbols, and equations all spinning in my head as I handed it back to her.  She had a good laugh watching as I must have made horrible faces. They don’t live far, but we only see them on birthdays or holidays.  Jerry’s brother has 2 girls, Ashleigh and Sydney, and 1 boy, Caleb.  They’re over an hour drive to their homes.  I haven’t seen any of them in years. Caleb is a wonderful young man.  He’s working for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at the trout fish hatchery in Roaring River State Park, and takes some classes.  He and his fiance have a baby boy, and Ashleigh has a baby boy.  So, it was left to Sydney to keep the female side back in control.  She gave us our baby girl, Eva.  Sydney and Keith are now making sure the balance stays in our control for a while.  Another girl on her way. You just can’t beat that, tee-hee.   I miss them so much.  I can only hope they will know we do love them. 

Well, I need to do some things before I get completely wiped out.   Hope you enjoyed Family history, LOL.

CYA,

Arlynda