Ketchup- Part I- The Puppeteer

Ahoy mateys from Texas! Don't be confused, I'm not on a boat. I'm still in East Texas- I'm just floating on the waves of patriotism from my John Phillips Sousa Pandora station! Marching bands + patriotic music is a WIN-WIN. So brush off your Dinkles and march to the beat- we've got a lot to ketchup on. And if you don't know what Dinkles are, you clearly weren't in marching band.

I'm sorry it's been an eternity since I've blogged because I have figuratively drowning in paperwork here. No rest for the weary and teary. Now that it is 4th of July Eve, I am taking the time to write and bring everyone up to speed for Part I. 

You haven't missed too much- I work, I eat, I sleep, walk my dog, sometimes cry, and do laundry. It's hot here so that makes me not want to subject myself or Bella to the heat for long. 

So backtrack to mid-June. I took a half-day Wednesday before Father's Day and went home for a long weekend. It was refreshing to be home and away from my stress down here. I still did paperwork but that's my life. Comes with the territory of being the only OTR for a company who is trying to build up their caseloads for full-time therapists. Think of me as a puppet. More later. 

Father's Day was great to see the fam and gather round the table for a meal of fellowship with a side of chips and salsa. I hung out with my sister and did some shopping. Did laundry. Took naps. It feels like it was soooo long ago. Time is passing in a blur yet not passing at all. 

Raquet and Jog shirts are all the rage down here. 

No joke. 

My second-mate travel buddy on the way back down to Texas was my jovial and jubilant mother (First-Mate is Bella, no offense Mom, but it's the truth). Always a joy to have uninterrupted time trapped in a car with a parent.. But seriously. It was nice to have company. We went to the Tyler Rose Garden, drove around the Azalea District, and went to some fabulous BBQ. 

Ok sitting with Grandma but still staring at me.

TRG

You'll  have to ask my mom what the advice from a sand dune is...

Baked potato with brisket- heaven in a paper boat. 

So Mom spent the night at Casa Lindsey and flew out of Tyler the next day (I bet her arms were tired by the time she got home!). 

I have two more things to talk about here on this Part I.

1- No Strings Attached

2- brush with death in the woods

1. No Strings Attached.  I've felt like a lot of my job down here has been to be a puppet- do exactly what they expect you to and don't break from that mold. I think since I haven't followed that mold (but that's not to say I'm doing bad things- I am making decisions that I think are best for my kids and using my clinical decision making skills) I've been seen as a pariah. Not to be confused with a piranha, but that word might work too. I haven't bitten anyone yet. I asked my Off-brand Photo-shop queen sister Leslie to help me out and make me one of the *NSYNC's from the No Strings Attached album. Best she could do. I don't think I'm a good curly blond though- but I got to sit closest to Leno. 

2. I nearly met my Maker on a nature trail. This was my second and last time walking at Faulkner Park. Birds were chirping and dusk was falling. I'm walking my dog and all of a sudden these bugs start swarming around my legs- like 5 of them. Like an ant-wasp combo. They were stinging my legs but left no mark. Every time Bella stopped to pee they stung my legs so I eventually just picked her up (she's old and it was hot anyway) and started hustling to the car. I'm sure I looked real cool swatting at these winged creatures with Bella's leash and exclaiming. 

This is the end of the road, so to speak on this post.
Part II to follow soon hopefully.
Stay tuned for more details and job updates!

Peace, love, and the Washington Post March-

me