Sunday, February 26, 2023

 Sunday, February 26, 2023

 I woke up several times during the night. At four-thirty, I was up for a while. I started my in-bed stretching exercises. I had them all done before the alarm went off at sixty-thirty. I had to be ready for church today.

    I was dressed and ready to go with some time to spare when I remembered I wanted to get a load of laundry in before I left. We were promised a rain-free day. My plans were for laundry and spraying the garden with vinegar to kill weeds. I always hang my laundry up on the line to dry. If I use the dryer one hour a year, that's high.

   On my walk this morning, I timed my steps. 100 steps a minute is the minimum for a healthy walk. I hit closer to 120.  One hundred and thirty is my limit of fast walking up and 15-20 % incline. I have been stuck at that number for a while.

    I left for church in plenty of time, but the library parking lot was full again. I knew church attendance had improved, but this was incredible. I found one parking spot in the top lot. I got the Costco-sized package of diapers out of the trunk. They seemed heavier than the two packages I had carried before. A man and his young son walked before me. I would have asked him for help, but he looked like a fire plug. I didn't think he could do much better than I could. I placed the box on my head. That was a little better.

    When I got to the steps leading up to the church door, I called up to the greeters to send someone down to get the box. The fireplug turned around, saw me, and came down to get it. He had no problems. I misjudged him.

    There were no folding chairs out on the church lanai today. I wondered what had happened. They're usually out in anticipation of the Sunday school classes for the children. I was supposed to talk to the parents today after mass. It looked like there wasn't going to be a class after all.  

   After mass, I went inside the church to find Margaret, who ran the classes. She was the school principal. She was nowhere to be seen. Instead, another parishioner was announcing a rosary recitation for the children. I asked her if she knew where Margaret was. No. Okay. There would definitely be no classes today. I went to the back of the church and out the door to grab a second half-donut provided by the hospitality committee.

    I was starting down the front stairs, preparing to leave after mass when I remembered I wanted to look at the gravestones again. I wanted to see if the wedges seemed as bad as I thought they did. I walked through the church to get to the far entrance to the cemetery. As I entered, Margaret was instructing the kids in front of the church. There weren't many gathered there. She was ushering them out the door. A few adults were left sitting there. I wanted to speak to the adults to offer tutoring for their children. So many have fallen behind due to Covid.

   Only one woman was interested in tutoring for her grandchild. She didn't have a piece of paper to write my number down or her phone. I called her number and left my information. A man cocked his head, signaling interest. I asked him. He said No, He homeschooled. That certainly doesn't mean his child or children were on grade level. I realized afterward that I hadn't given my credentials as a teacher, just as a human being. I told them I was Deacon Mike's widow. That wouldn't guarantee I was a good teacher.

   On the way home, I stopped at Long's to buy a mango and check for Hersey's. The Hersey's were on sale, three dollars off. I grabbed four bags of kisses and five of the nuggets. I went to check their produce. Long's used to have a good selection of locally grown food. There wasn't much today, no mangos. At check out, I realized the nuggets weren't with almonds. I only like them with almonds. I had already scanned two of the almond-free packages. I needed a clerk to remove them from my tab. Then, I headed to Ace Hardware.

    I needed 30% vinegar for the weeding chore I planned for today. I only had one gallon left. Ace, as amazing as it often is, only had the liter-sized container. Not worth it for me. On the way home, I stopped at Home Depot. They're often out of it too. Today, I was in luck. I saw five containers on the lowest shelf. With my improved range of motion, I could stoop low enough to get three containers after my hip replacement.  

    My next stop was home. Half a mile up Ka'imanani, raindrops started falling. It wasn't supposed to rain either today or tomorrow. That's why I did my laundry this morning. It was pouring when I got to the turn-off at Amaama. It was one of those downpours that soaks you the moment you step out into it. After I got home, I sat in the car waiting for a let-up. Well, so much for my plans for the day. I decided to nap.

     I slept deeply. I have no idea why I needed that sleep. As I woke up, Elsa jumped on me. She does that. She waits until I'm just surfacing to come to me. She wants me to rub her belly. Can't do that when I'm sound asleep. I pet her a little and then stopped. She curled up on my chest and fell asleep herself. Those are precious moments. I made our time together last as long as possible before Mother Nature insisted I get up. I had slept over two hours. Where does this sleep come from? I wish I could pass some of it off to my friends and family who have trouble sleeping.

   I had a text from second-grade M's mother asking if I could meet with M earlier than four pm. It was late to get the message; was it too late? I called. They were eating a late lunch and would call when they were ready.

   In the meantime, I got a call from the woman from church who said she wanted tutoring help for her grandchild. Holy cow! I was surprised if she followed up. Not only did she follow up, she followed up immediately. Very impressive. She asked me how much I charged. I told her I was prepared to do it for free. No, she could pay. Wow! Again.

    I didn't have time for a long conversation because I was expecting a call from M's mother. I finally called her at 3:30. "We are just heading for the car now."  M's teacher asked me to work with her on measurement. It was not a suitable topic for a moving car. Besides, I hate working with kids in moving cars with their whole family sitting there. 

    I called back the woman from the church. She has custody of her granddaughter; the girl is with her mother twice weekly. I didn't ask what the deal was. It was probably something to do with drugs. In the meantime, I got to work with the girl.

   The rain finally stopped. I prepared to take my clothes out of the washing machine and hang them up. Some rain doesn't prevent the clothes from drying in intense sun. However, the downpours we've been having are too much. For the first time since I moved here, I put a load fresh from the washing machine into the dryer.