Stiff and Other Things

Yesterday was the annual Foster Parent appreciation event. May is the month of the Foster Parent, which I duly proclaim every year. The social services department and case workers and child professionals host an afternoon event to honor the foster parents. We eat way too many calories, drink coffee and punch, and then play bingo for donated prizes. I have attended this event every year since I became mayor. This was my last such event since I am term limited out of office in November. L was in town and able to attend with me, so we had a good time and got to say goodbye and thank you to the parents and staff.

I always find it a bit sad that social services is a county department, but it is a too rare occurrence when any of the commissioners attend and say thank you to the foster parents. Foster parents have a tough (and heart wrenching) job in todays society. Many of the far western states like California have moved to an orphanage type system (under more PC names, but if it quacks like a duck, it's a good time to get out the shotgun!) due to the scarcity of qualified foster parents. It will be interesting to see what the system looks like in another 20 years everywhere.

Today started off dull and dreary with bouts of wind and a few rain sprinkles. Not an auspicious beginning to getting the onions planted in Mom's garden. We had originally planned on planting Friday and then Saturday, but it was too cold and windy and rainy both days. But the weather cleared by 11am this morning and it warmed up a bit, so I spent the majority of the afternoon planting onions. For those who haven't planted onions, it involves spending a lot of time contorted into positions that would make a Sumo wrestler proud. By the end of the day, my thighs were giving out, so i sat on the ground outside the planting area and scooted along to plant the last couple of rows. Then it was time to hook the drip irrigation system up and finish applying the weed killer and fertilizer.

That led to getting mom out to the back yard to supervise my efforts. I think she was a bit surprised at her ability to manuever the wheel chair on the lawn once we got her out there. Whereas I was tired and stiff and happy to be done, Mom was sitting there and with raw hunger in her eyes, wanting to get out into the soft soil in the garden area. If her hip heals up and the bones that were operated on in her ankle continue to mend, she might soon be out there. If not, she might be a bit cranky. {*grin*}

Time to get some things done I have my annual diabetic exam in the morning and need to get some stuff ready. Don't do anything i wouldn't!