There must be a light under the bushel!

Uncontrollable

Do you ever want to turn back to yesterday, when you thought you were in control of your life?

I took my dog to the vet early last week. She's 15 years old, and I panic each time I have to take her in. The entire ride there, I prepare myself to the idea that this time, I might not be taking her home with me. Like I can ever really prepare for it. She should be okay, with some medicine, a small procedure and a few hundred bucks, I hope.

My dad was driving his new John Deere today. He got it about a week ago, and it's all he can talk about. Knowing the next door neighbor had one with less horsepower, he slyly asked the neighbor if he thought my dad got too much horsepower. Man's way of showing off. While riding the prized possession today, a rock flew up and shattered our back door.

The plumbing stopped working in the guest bathroom yesterday (my bathroom, for now). Today, the plumber came to the house and checked it out. The entire system is flawed, a problem with the placement of the pipes that can only be truly fixed by yanking up the foundation. However, they can work with what they have for a little under a thousand bucks.

However, these things are not the real problem. My brother and his wife separated this week. There are two marriages among people my age that I truly had faith in. My brother's was one of those. He called Tuesday and told us, but said he didn't know if he'd make it for Thanksgiving. He didn't want a pity party. I debated whether I should call him or not, but finally gave in. I didn't want him to think I was trying to create a bonding let's-share-our-divorce-stories moment. I just wanted him to come home so we could look at him. He did come home, but only for a few hours. It was enough. We saw he was okay, and he got over a major hurdle, facing Mom and Dad for the first time after such a major experience. We didn't talk about it. The atmosphere was a little tense, but he's holding up.

All he really told us is that they just cannot get their lifestyles to be compatible. He wants to settle down with a house and start thinking about a family. She doesn't know anymore if she even wants to have kids. She likes her career too much. While living 50 years ago had to have been so much more difficult in so many ways, at least people worked at things that matter in life. I just wonder if we can ever get that attitude back in our society.