My Long Trek Around Tulsa

Yesterday morning I went to see Andrew. Then my daughter and I went out to lunch.

When we left the restaurant in separate cars, I wasn't quite sure exactly where I was, though I had been there before. I turned in the opposite direction because she lives way out. 

Mistake.

I ended up in Broken Arrow not once, but twice. I ended up on three highways only to exit and go in the opposite direction. I finally saw something that looked familiar and found my way. 

This is always frustrating, but I've decided this is the only way I will see all of Tulsa because, I don't deviate from my path in my own neighborhood often. 

Better to laugh at myself.
 

I stopped at my favorite Chinese restaurant once I got my bearings. I like to get their lunch meal and save it until supper when my ankle isn't in good shape. That way I don't have to stand up long come supper time.

I happened to pick up their new menu, as they have just renovated their business and had new menus made. 

I was trying to explain to the waitress I know pretty well that they had spelled broccoli wrong. They spelled it with one "c" and two "l's."

Not sure she understood, but a man who was also waiting spoke up. He said: "So you went to journalism school."

I guess he'd heard me try to explain to her that my speaking up about spelling was just a habit from journalism school. (Not sure if it is; I think it's more of an Asperger's trait.)

So I sit down to wait also and we talked a bit. Odd for me to talk to someone, especially a man, that I don't know. But he "was talking my language", said he'd minored in journalism and we talked about the colleges we'd attended. 

I knew my way home quite well from there, because it's pretty much a straight shot back to my apartment. 

The dogs were both angry with me for leaving them and ecstatic that I was home. 

Some of you have mentioned that when Andrew comes over, that perhaps I shut put the dogs in the bedroom. That just wouldn't work.

If Abi can't see me, she wails. And she doesn't stop until she can see me. I can't afford to let her upset the neighbors. 

Which is why it's just best for me to go see him in his own home. I couldn't do that last week because I was waiting for Kenny.

Andrew's at that age when one of his favorite words is "no." 

You ask him a question, and no matter what it is, he often just comes back with "no."

My daughter is 38 and I can see she's a lot more worn down than I was when I had young children. Plus she works all week. If he would let me, I'd take the pressure off of her for awhile and read to him or play with him. 

But he's just not in the mood for being still right now. And he only wants his mother. Or his father. He's in that phase.

I hope in a few years we can plant things together and enjoy watching vegetables grow. If I'm lucky I might make a gardener out of him. 

But right now, he wouldn't be interested in a garden unless there was either a train or a dinosaur in it.

I'm not sure, but I think Israel is back in the hospital. I saw it on FB this morning. But it's all I can do to translate even when I click translate. I don't know where if that's the case.

I told him when he came back that he never should have left Mexico until his doctor told him it was okay. Guess I'll hear something before too long.

So nothing much has gotten accomplished on the bathroom. I'll probably end up finishing what I can manage to do myself. Doesn't seem like outside help is in the cards right now.

However I put up the goodies I found in Jenks in the dining room. And I hung the Janet Hill paintings in the bathroom that I took from that wall. 

Maybe the temperature will get up high enough today for me to spray paint the black shelf for the bathroom if I'm lucky. And then I can cross one more thing off the bathroom project list.