hugged Leo and Linda goodbye and then buzzzzzed out the door to finally do the errand with Paul that Lois tasked me with. Alex had stayed home from school today. But he didn’t just stooge around on his tab-a-let, o nosirree.
First off in the morning before L&L departed, we recorded the first episode of our podcast Alex and GG Make Things Up and there’s an excruciating ad lib about the five great lakes. If I figure out how to post that audio clip I probably shouldn’t until I’ve talked to Alex.
Then we picked up Paul, got a printout of the drugs he takes, made an appointment at a walkin clinic, and then we had an hour and a half to kill so we ate at the Wendy’s on 6th Street and took Alex to run around the playground at the northeast end of Robert Burnaby Park for a while, then we went to the appointment and talked a locum into covering a scrip gap because Paul’s doctor’s office makes it IMPOSSIBLE, like MANY BAD SWEARS IMPOSSIBLE to contact them by phone; literally called the number from two different phones and they said the number’s NOT IN USE. sad mismanagement some fuckin’ wheres I do assure you. Doc L only did it on account of I was going to make an appointment that very day and I haven’t been able to because I either didn’t have internet access or the line appeared to be disconnected. Never mind, scrip’s still good and we filled it, pick it up in three weeks, in blister packs to help the people who are now helping Paul take his meds every day. His blood pressure is awesome though.
THEN we went back to Paul’s and I used his cell phone (37 percent charge YAY) to message Lois that I had indeed done what she asked and then I called Tish who had apparently left a message and so Paul got to get an errand done, see his grandson, talk to friends and relatives, eat out and meander about in the brilliant brilliant sunshine.
and then and then and then, I checked to see if Paul could actually use the thumb drive I bought on his fancy new TV and he can’t. No video files, just audio and photos. Damn. Then I put up his new write on wipe off note on his fridge.
AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN I had a fuckin’ genius idea. I said to Alex have you ever seen your mom’s work and he said no so I called Katie, twice ! I forgot to get the address the first time, and I took him to see how hard his mom works and the gorgeous Italian marble she works with, and the water saws (she’s a sawyer now) and Katie got to take her son straight home instead of duking it out on Canada Way so she probably got home about fifteen minutes faster. ALEX WAS BESIDE HIMSELF with how glorious the marble was, saying every thirty seconds NO THIS IS MY FAVOURITE and he started coughing so it was time to leave… so much dust. You can imagine.
And all that happened in less than 4 hours. I’m still high from how much absolutely down home family fun we had and how thrilled Paul was to talk to his peeps. And Alex…. What a wonderful, wonderful human being. He was helpful and kind and appropriate with old ladies and he said “I want to see a baby” at 8 am because he missed when Ryker was tiny and he got to see a tiny infant in a basket at the old folks home coming to visit and he looked as pleased as if the child was a relation. What an absolute sweetheart he is.