The Breakability of Melamine

   This has not been the best week.

Need a New Speech Therapist

  i don't remember if i mentioned, but about a month ago, SnowbirdSpeechTherapist's husband died.  Max and i found out by arriving on her doorstep, because we'd missed her email due to the computer problems.  At that time, she gave an estimated date to resume therapy which came out to last Tuesday.
  Monday night i emailed her, reminding her that she'd said to not come if she hadn't specifically said TO come.  Wednesday's email brought the news that she needed to close the practice, sell the house, and complete the arrangements to move to Florida, that had been in process for two years.
  Sad for her?  Yes.  i don't want to minimize that.  But this blog is about my life with Max, not the people who surround us.
  Also on Wednesday, i received a reminder call from a new doctor's office about a medical test i did not want to have.  i've had it before; it turns me to screaming jelly, and i'd had MyGuy take the day off to be with me.
  My referring doctor had told me it was Thursday.  The testing doctor said Friday.  Scream.
  MyGuy changed his day off.  My hero.

Miss Tutor's Wedding Preparations

  So, we have no speech now, & haven't for about 3 weeks.  The VSA program ended.  MissTutor's wedding was coming up Friday night, and she needed to skip Wednesday's session.
  i was already disintegrating in anticipation of that test.
  Max and i did go over to the church and help with the setup for about an hour.  He didn't want to go, but i insisted.  The job he was supposed to do, hanging banners, he wasn't able to do, because the ladders weren't sturdy enough, so we did other things to help.
  Not as orerly & laid out as he would've liked, but he was able to be useful.
  We baked chicken after we got home.  It took awhile.
 
After Lunch
  i could tell Max was getting "volcanic."  As i washed dishes, he stood in the kitchen looking ominous.  i offered him a chance with the dishes.  No.  i offered him a chance to chop wood, a good tension reliever.  No.
  He picked up a melamine bowl that he'd eaten his rice from.
  And slammed it on the floor.

  Since it didn't break, he slammed it again.  Harder.
  This time, the melamine bowl broke.  There were about a half dozen large pieces from the 6" bowl, and hundreds of shards.
  Boom and i have a routine.  We direct Max to the broom and dustpan, and insist he clean it up.
  An hour later, the job was done.  Max proclaimed himself to feel better.
  And that the problem was Mom.

Pulling the Words Out

  As i've said before, it's difficult to get Max's meaning, but this time it was plain.
  MyGuy thinks i often unnecessarily make Max's anger about myself, but i'm pretty sure it's not so.  Boom agrees.
  We asked, Do you have a headache, or hurt somewhere else?  He will often give an Unreliable Yes, but this answer was a definite No.
  We asked, Is the problem Mom or something else?  He responded promptly, Mom.
  Boom tried again, Is the problem that Boom came down late for lunch or is it Mom?  Emphatically, the answer was MOM.
  i said, There are a lot of dishes to wash.  i will finish filling the drainer, then i'm going to my room.  If they get finished, that will be a good thing.
  Boom told me later that he had supervised Max washing the rest of the dishes.

The Rest of the Afternoon

  i stayed in our room, with the door closed, for an hour or so, then decided this was no way to live.  i took my colored pencils and sketchbook outside.
  Actually, most of the rest of the day Max and i avoided each other.  Friday, we didn't see much of each other either.  MyGuy went to that medical test - and it was as bad i remembered, except this time the doctor herself did it, instead of advising techs while seeing other patients.  (different doctor - this one opted for not completing the test, deciding that she had enough info to diagnose carpal tunnel and recommend surgery and a rheumatologist as well).
  i proposed massive doses of hot chocolate to cure the cold that enveloped me, as well as the shakiness, but MyGuy thought a walk in the park would do more.  So we walked in the park first, while i continued to shiver, then went to Bob Evans and had lunch - with three cups of bottomless hot chocolate, no whip.  The walk was no doubt a good idea, but the chocolate got me feeling relatively normal, or at least warm, again.

Life Goes On

  We enjoyed the wedding.  Max and MyGuy went home before the dancing, but Boom and i stayed until the end.
  And maybe Max and i just needed a break from each other.  Yesterday he got quite fascinated by my colored pencil work.  He watched me "put them through their paces," seeing how this one blends with that one, then he wanted to help me. Next we did the same with his collection of colored pencils, then he agreed to draw Thomas the Tank Engine and allow me to add shading with his pencils. 
  We do see a lot more of each other than the average 22 year old young man and his mom.  And, more than that even, he much more dependent on me that the average young man his age.
  It is understandably riling.