Wednesday Woes

I actually wrote my blog post before I posted this photo. After I reread it, it was then that I realized The Scream is such an appropriate picture to add to this so I went looking for it.

Funny story. One of my great friends here in CT (Aside: I reserve the title Best Friend for my departed paternal grandmother. You don't often know what a Best Friend is until you get someone like her in your life. I'll blog about her one day.) is someone I met early in my grad school experience. We took a class together and became friends from there. One thing we both recall vividly was our instructor using this picture as an example of some sort. He said, "What happened here? Do you think he looked down at his feet and realized he was wearing two different colored socks?" Oh my goodness! She and I were the only ones to laugh big laughs at that and snickers through the rest of the class, but we were also the only 2 grads in the class. The rest were a bunch of undergrads who clearly couldn't care less and obviously didn't know true wit when it entertained them. We still fall out to this day when we recall it and I'm stifling a laugh even now. OK. On to the original post.

I am certain something is trying to piss me off. OK, maybe God is trying to finally get across the lesson of patience. But so far all I am is pissed off. Why? Three things:

1 - SON!

Today's grievances - today ALONE.

• Wanted the Capri Sun this evening from his Lunchable. He took another juice to camp this morning and saved the Capri Sun for later. If you've ever seen this little juice bag (just as annoying as juice boxes), the straw is in a cellophane wrapper glued to the pouch. I took it off, inserted the straw and noticed there was a little remainder of cellophane on the pouch. Son took one sip and placed it in the trash. Why? Brace yourself. BECAUSE THERE WAS PAPER ON THE JUICE POUCH! I looked at him and promptly took it out of the trash. "You are NOT going there. DRINK IT." He did.
• Son eats corn on the cob. I gave him corn on the cob and a hot dog from yesterday's grillfest. He refused to eat the corn because it had "black stuff" on it. "That's from the grill, same as the hot dog, same as the hamburger both of which you eat with no problem," I say. He sniffed it, licked it, took the tiniest bite that even a mouse would envy and said no. I wanted to toss him. This past week, we had had this same discussion except he didn't want the corn because it wasn't on a stick a la KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). Husband and I looked at each other and I told Son how he always ate the corn before and the stick has nothing to do with anything. I insisted he try it. He did and loved it. Today? He's out of his mind.
• Yesterday, someone else was sitting in the seat he normally sits in at the dining room table. I gave him something to eat at another seat - all the chairs are identical - and he cried. Hear me? CRIED about having to sit somewhere else. I wanted to explode. I sent him to his room instead. I figured out a long time ago that my son does not like sudden change but this is just too much. Husband says he's doing it to irk me. I think that's nonsense. Why would you want to shorten your own life like that?

2 - MIL's aunt and cousin were here this holiday weekend. Husband went out this evening to get something about 10 minutes before the pair were set to leave. The aunt needs help getting up and down the stairs. So I am on my phone in my bedroom leaving a message for a friend when I hear,
"Where's (Husband)? Where's Monica?" asks MIL loudly.
"(Husband)'s car isn't here. He and Monica left! How they going to leave and leave those babies here?!"
At this point I am walking to her bedroom door and I peek in as she finishes that statement.
"Yes?" I ask her. She didn't see me until I said that.
"Where were you?" (See, what must have happened is I must have stepped into another dimension briefly. Probably the Twilight Zone given the issue above.)
"In my room," I answer and give her a look that says, "Did it ever dawn on you to look there?"
So she tells me to call up Husband. He's not answering because he's over his minutes but he texts me instead. All I can do is laugh because that one makes HER look bad.

3 - I am in emissions hell. I'll be brief. First of all I have lived in this state for 13 years. The emissions test went out so many years ago I can't tell you when. It came back not too long ago; at least a year ago since my car registration letter told me that I was supposed to go sometime in 2005. Who knew?

So I took the test on Monday. There are 3 sections on this test that you must pass. I passed two of them. Got the problem fixed that same day for the third issue. It was needed. I was quite clogged. Went back today. I passed the section I had failed and FAILED the two sections I had passed. Hello? Pissing me off? I go directly to my mechanic. Do not pass house or Husband. Mechanic is dumbfounded. He tells me they tossed the test in the first place because of irregularities in readings. I ask, "so I don't need to jump to the catalytic converter conclusion just yet?" He says he thinks I need to go somewhere else to test it. I agree. See you can go to a place, pay your $20. If you fail, you can only go to a certified place to fix it then you must go back to original test site and get free retest. Fail again and you pay $20 every time from then on. I'll be calling the DMV tomorrow. He thinks something's up. We'll see.

Everybody's buggin' today. But I'm calmer now. Need to eat.