Monday, May 11, 2009

One Major Advantage

The major advantage for a night owl wage earner? Being able to attend to family tasks during the day.

Scored major points in picking up Mom at the airport from her weeklong stay in Denver. First time she'd traveled solo - ever. With Dad having passed away some six months ago, she's been going through a bunch of firsts. She hadn't yet taken his greeting off the cellphone which I realized when I called to see if she was at the gate or at the baggage claim.

The flight attendant had spilled tomato juice on Mom's white jacket and after futile Shout wipe swipes, it was decided that Midwest Airlines would provide a replacement jacket. In-flight chocolate chip cookies and wardrobe upgrades: sweet. Arrangements were made at the counter just as her luggage appeared on the carousel.

We managed to be in and out of the airport within the parameter of "free parking" - 30 minutes. Righteously so as I was also the designated chauffeur and bearer of medical records for my brother Terry who has finally (thankfully) agreed to an assessment of a horrifying infection of his lip and mouth.

The flexibility afforded by graveyard shift hours is especially appreciated when approaching the miasma of CSP - the Behavioral Health branch of County Services. Terry has skirted the medical authorities regarding his lip since Dad's funeral. Dad had been my brother's most effective advocate and I have been less than graceful in filling Dad's shoes.

After months of unsuccessfully trying to get Terry to at least see the barber, I resorted to bribes of cigarettes and ham sandwiches for a preliminary clean-up. No dice. When the calls came from his rooming house last week, during what is designated as my sleeptime, I was happy to be alerted that he was ready to deal with his lip.

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