Last year, June was cool and rainy, and the whole summer was quite bearable. This year, not so much. When we got back from vacation you could tell it hadn't rained much, if at all, while we were gone. We mowed (I mowed) the front lawn a few days before we left and I was afraid we'd come home to a jungle again. But only the weeds were taller. The grass looked like it had gone to sleep.
Since then, we've had a few tiny thunderstorms, but not a good soaking rain. And it's hot. Three of the last five days have been in the 90s. The "heat dome" has moved on east, so we don't have that anymore, but it's still supposed to get to 90 today (so far it's only 77 -- but it's 96 in St. Louis, poor Rocket Boy). I haven't quite adjusted to the heat yet, so I'm just dragging myself around.
The other problem is that I finally took my first shot of Mounjaro, the diabetes/weight loss drug that is supposed to transform my life. Hmm. Its effects started almost immediately (I took it Friday night before bed). A nasty taste in my mouth, nausea, fatigue, feeling like I'm going to keel over but never quite doing it. No vomiting yet, just this really unpleasant feeling. And instead of having my hunger curbed, I find myself wanting to eat because of the bad taste in my mouth. Oh, and awful stomach cramps yesterday, though no diarrhea, yet. And no weight loss, but it's early. But today is better than yesterday, and I hope the rest of the week will gradually improve. I've committed myself to the first month of it at least, so that means 3 more shots. After that I'll see.
The first night after the shot I dreamed that we still had our old dog Molly, but that I had forgotten to feed her -- for perhaps years (she died in November 2007). She was very skinny, chained up in the backyard, but ate and drank happily when I finally remembered her. Then last night I dreamed that we still had my old cat Edward, but that I had forgotten to feed HER -- she died in May 2007. I suppose it's just a coincidence that I would dream these things after starting Mounjaro.
***
So, the door broke on March 22nd and the new door was finally in place on June 12th.
It took me a while to get back into housewife mode -- maybe I'm still not there. I didn't do any cleaning last week other than laundry and dishes and unpacking. We ate out Sunday, I think I cooked on Monday, we ate out again on Tuesday, I forget what we did Wednesday, the kids and I ate out Thursday, I cooked on Friday, and we ate out Saturday. Something like that. I'm planning to cook today, but I have to admit it's already 1:50 and I haven't thought of anything to make. Teen B and I have to do a 5K walk today (for his PE class) and we thought we'd start that around 7 pm, which means dinner has to be earlier. Hmm.
We're adjusting to having a new car. Both the new car (blue) and my old car (red) fit very nicely on the driveway, so that's good. When Rocket Boy moves back, he will have to park on the street until he faces reality and agrees to get rid of his dad's old Montero. We had some testy discussions of that while he was here. I wanted him to fill out the paperwork to donate it to NPR, but he waved me away, saying he was too busy. He also told me he was hoping to go "jeeping" in the Montero again someday. Since the Montero doesn't start unless you put it on the charger for a long time, and the last time he tried it wouldn't start at all, and if you do manage to get it charged, it doesn't stay charged very long, I think taking it "jeeping" in the mountains somewhere would be a really bad idea. But I know my husband, and letting go of his dad's car will be hard for him, so this may take time.
This little conflict reminds me of something that was abundantly clear during the past week we spent together. Rocket Boy and I got along fabulously on the traveling part of the trip. We've always traveled happily together and we still do. But as soon as we got home, the bickering started. I've gotten used to being in charge around our house and I do not like Rocket Boy coming home and imposing his own rules. It's going to be a real challenge when he moves back for good. I hope it's a challenge we're up to, but if not, there's always couples counseling, family counseling, all that.
Teen A reached 50 hours of driving during the trip, so he is scheduled to take his driving test on Thursday. Teen B is taking a more leisurely approach to this driving business, so we'll keep working on his hours this summer. I got the bright idea that we could drive up to NCAR in the evenings before bedtime several nights a week, so that he can get his nighttime hours done (they have to have 10 hours and he only has 1.5). We did that on Friday night and he drove for 20 minutes. However, we also almost ran into a deer (that's why it took us 20 minutes -- he drove very, very slowly after that). Running into deer at night is business as usual in Colorado, so it was a good experience for him, but it kind of spooked me. Interestingly, he chose the new blue car for his drive. Both boys prefer the blue car to the red car, but I'm more comfortable in the red car -- except on the highway, when the blue car wins.
Other achievements this week: Teen B finally opened a bank account! Teen A took this step back in December, I think it was (and has already almost emptied his account), but Teen B wasn't ready until now. He had something like $800 in cash lying around at home, so it was about time. It's interesting to me the way the boys gradually reach the various milestones, whether or not I push them. I'm learning to back off. I make suggestions, but mostly I wait until they're ready. Rocket Boy doesn't understand that approach, so I will have to try to help him with it when he moves back.
OK, now it's 3:16 pm and all the flowers and herbs and the tomato are planted. Some of them look better than others. The basil perked right up as soon as it was watered, but the lobelia are pretty sad. They may not make it, but I can always buy more. I've got room for quite a few more flowers -- one window box is completely empty, one is half full, and then there are lots of empty pots. So I'll be able to amuse myself buying flowers for a few weeks.
Teen A and Teen B helped a tiny bit with the planting (sort of). Teen B attached the hose -- that's how late we are with everything this year -- we still hadn't reattached the hoses after winter. Teen A came out, looked at the front yard, complained about the dormant grass, looked for the spray nozzle but couldn't find it, and finally ended up standing with his finger on the regular nozzle, creating a spray over the lawn, for about 15 minutes. He also, crossly, took his finger off the nozzle for a minute so that I could fill up my watering can. It was not really the right time of day to water the lawn, but I was so pleased to have him doing anything that I didn't say a word.
I got very nauseated while doing the planting. I think this is going to be a quiet summer for me. I'll try to do yardwork, but it's going to be minimal. Reading and writing, my favorite things to do anyway, are probably going to be my main activities.
So, the week ahead. Tomorrow (Monday) I have an appointment to get the car titled and pick up our new Colorado license plates. Tuesday, Teen B has an eye appointment, and the book group meets. And Thursday is Teen A's driving test, so we'll probably do some practicing on Wednesday. Oh, and we're also switching our cell phone service, so we'll have to make that happen this week. I had to mail Rocket Boy his new SIM card -- I think he'll get it Tuesday, and then we can do the final steps. I hate doing anything technical like this -- I don't understand it, I don't want to understand it, I want somebody else to do it for me -- but I'm sure it will be OK.
And there's Juneteenth on Wednesday, and the first official day of summer on Thursday. Summer summer summer...
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