So now, my son has fallen and hurt his back. so he can’t help assemble my shed – yet again. There’s always an excuse. I don’t doubt he fell or that he hurt his back. However, he’s one of the biggest drama queens other than his father, that I have ever known. Where did I go wrong? Or is it just him?

I guess that I just naturally work through whatever pain. When I was in college, I had to finish a hike with not one, but two sprained ankles. This was way before any type of battery operated phone. No one knew where I was. I was alone and wasn’t anywhere that I could hobble to a phone.

I was in pain for days after that, but I made it across campus to class. People asked why I was limping and I didn’t want to admit that I had jumped a creek and landed with both feet in a hole. The hole wasn’t big enough for one foot, let alone two. I was just glad I hadn’t broken one or both of them.

If I hadn’t been able to hobble out, my bones would probably still be in that ravine and I would have my own episode of Unexplained Disappearances. “She was a quiet girl, but we really didn’t know her that well. She just up and disappeared one day. We thought she left for her parents’ home in Connecticut. It was odd that she left her stuff.”

Other painful episodes involved the usual female problems, a bad gallbladder, and assorted blood clots – DVTs – not congealed owies. Not to mention childbirth. Twice. And a bunch of misfires – not too many know about those, but the aftereffects were not great.

So anyway, back to the shed. It’s been two months since I bought it and two weeks since I took it out of the box because “I’ll be there Friday at noon. That should be enough time before I go to work.” So he said, except he didn’t show up because he was called into work and the next day, he was scheduled early. And he has this excuse and that one, and he made plans, and there was a concert, and…and…

Enough. so now, his back is hurt and he’s off work. I don’t know how he survives himself. He quit the job with the retirement, the holiday pay, paid time off, and the comprehensive medical plan to go back to working for pennies and tips and no insurance. Alcohol has seriously damaged his brain.

Alcohol dependence is not the complete issue. There’s a good chance his brain is doing an A-type misfire, but he’s never been diagnosed with any of the big A’s – Autism, ADHD. I can’t diagnosis him. My medical knowledge is bits and pieces gleaned from copying medical articles to send to doctors. That doesn’t qualify me to even say someone has a cold.

Some of the articles changed my perception of human intelligence, especially considering the recent pandemic. And don’t get me started on politics. The only thing I have to say is that when the Founding Fathers added a minimum age to be President, they should have added a minimum and maximum age as well, with term limits, for each of the branches of government. No one should be able to hold a public office for as long as their grandchildren are alive. End rant!