TMI

I see that I haven't posted anything at all this month. I was visiting family out of town for the first week and in an intense workshop for the second while trying to catch up on the things that had accumulated during the first. It's calming down now. But only a little. So much has happened in the last two weeks that I almost don't know how to organize it all or where to start.

Generally, these are the main topics du jour, each one of which will get an entry in my writings this week: First, Bill has a new attorney. This, coupled with a new judge, makes me nervous. What leaned heavily in my favor last year could go completely against me this year if somebody out there buys the cancer card if it's carefully delivered by able legal counsel. Second, we gave Bill's dog to a couple in Malibu who foster and adopt large dogs over five years old. Three weeks later the dog was diagnosed with cancer(melanoma of the mouth, to be exact). The husband was in love with Matt and wanted to try to put him through radiation therapy. The therapy, however, caused Matt to become aggressive. Matt had the couple afraid he would seriously injure their other pets. In addition, the wife has a skin condition for which she has to use prescription lotions and creams. One day she came into the bathroom to find that Matt had eaten all of them. She picked up the phone, called us, and told us to come pick up Matt. The third thing that has happened was that Bill's sister called me when we were up north. I hadn't heard from her since Bill pulled a fast one with their parents' estate in 2003 and ripped her off. This particular piece will be a very long and interesting entry for me to write later this week. And lastly, Kyle's best friend has been hospitalized on a 5150 and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Since he has the same medical coverage as I,-----not to mention my vast up-close and personal experience with bipolar disorder-------I was able to guide his dad to the bipolar expert at the facility. In addition, the father won't let him back in the house until he is really clean and sober. This means a a 60- or 90-day inpatient treatment first. The father will pay. Fortunately he has the means. Oh, yes! And one more thing: Kyle's van broke down immediately after we returned from our trip. There is good news, though. A cancer and dread disease policy I carry on my family finally paid me for the three weeks Bill was in the hospital for his intestinal bypass. They shorted me about $1500 so they will be hearing from me tomorrow. But the check in the mail was a welcome relief. I was going to be completely out of money by the 23rd. I had even swallowed my pride and asked Dad for the loan I had asked for last summer but never took. I will probably take the loan anyway just to smack down some of my credit card debt, but not until after my divorce is final.

Despite the above paragraph, and the ongoing aggravation of listening to my dad's negative spin on people and things and his quickly diminishing short-term memory, my life abounds with blessings, one of which is people. My joy in people seems to be growing by the day, and it is this particular revelation that leads me to believe not only that my life is moving in an absolutely wonderful direction but that Bill and I were not right for each other. He was so anti-social. Even when he made overtures, he always ended up alienating folks. Now that I am without him, I am in a constant state of appreciation and joy for the people with whom I come in contact. Being with people used to drain my batteries. Now they charge them. Are all people this amazing? People, my faith, my attitude, all come together to give me a great outlook on life. I could definitely do with a few more good breaks but the net result is a happy existence.