6:34 p.m. - 2009-02-05
Tempus Fugit
I�ve been indisposed you might say. I fell downstairs and dislocated my right elbow the day after Boxing Day, and no I was not drunk. I tripped over one of Twinks mules, which he�d left at the top of the stairs. I flung out a hand to save myself and that was it...crunch. It was incredibly painful and very disabling, especially while I had the splint on. It�s much better now. I�ve had a couple of physio sessions and I�ve more or less got full mobility back. I can swat Twinkles� backside without causing myself more discomfort than I cause him. I think he preferred it when I had the splint on. Jason on the other hand wishes I�d dislocated my tongue so that my ability to scold and nag was reduced. He�s been shirking schoolwork, as Val and I discovered when we were called to school after the Christmas holiday to discuss his attitude to handing in homework, his attitude being that seeing as he hadn�t done any it was pointless trying to hand it in. He�s got important exams coming up and he needs to buckle down. I was especially annoyed because he�d blatantly lied to Val and Sandra when they asked him whether he was keeping up with his assignments. He was sixteen on 30th December and by way of a gift Twinks and I had issued a promise to take him to Liverpool for a shopping trip once the weather and my elbow improved. Liverpool�s shopping centre is wonderful and there�s a very good designer retail outlet at Ellesmere Port. We�d also promised a nice hotel, a nice dinner and a visit to The Beatles Museum and the site of the Cavern Club, which is now a caf�. Jason has a thing about the Beatles, so all in all he was excited about the trip. I put the whole package under threat and made it conditional when we found out about his schoolwork not being up to spec. He wasn�t too pleased and I wasn�t too popular. Still, it seems to have done the trick. Sometimes I wonder how the heck I ended up in a position where I have to nag a teenager about schoolwork, it was never a part of my life plan.
It�s cold, snowy and miserable here today, though it didn�t stop Twinks from using his day off work to trawl around the town snapping up Sale end bargains. I�m a bit cross with him really; he�s just spending for the sake of it. He doesn�t need any of the things he�s bought. It�s a good job that the wardrobes in this house didn�t come from MFI or they�d have fallen apart by now under the strain of housing his stuff. They�d have gone bust like the Company. He claims that someone has to keep shopping in order to try and save any more Companies from crashing because of the recession. Apparently, if everyone were as tight fisted as me then High Streets up and down the country would be boarded up and reclaimed by nature. He�s using his pink pound to try and keep the economy afloat and I should be lauding him, not complaining. He also says that if the Banks go under we�ll lose our money anyway so it�s best to spend it while we can. I�ve told him that gas and electricity and other mundane but necessary things aren�t in any sale and we need to hang onto some money to pay the bills when they come in. He says I�m getting decidedly naggy in my old age and if I�m not careful he�ll leave me and take up with a young dumb blonde. Over my dead body.
Christmas was a mixed affair. Twinkles was absolutely shattered. Don�s grandson remained critical over the holiday and the family were told to prepare for the worst, so Don didn�t turn out for work. He naturally wanted to support his daughter who is a single parent. William was transferred to a children�s hospital in Newcastle for more specialised care. Prayers were answered and he turned a corner in the interim between Christmas and New Year and is now receiving care at home. Cystic Fibrosis is such a horrible condition. I can�t imagine what it must be like to be a parent of such a child and know that in all likelihood they will not make adulthood. Twinkles didn�t mind covering for Don at all. He and the girls had their traditional Christmas Eve dressing up fundraiser and collected a fair amount for the CFT (cystic fibrosis trust) However, as I said, he was shattered and he really was looking forward to having a couple of days of work, but then the owner of the business dropped a bombshell. Instead of the shop being shut on Boxing Day, as it normally is, he wanted Twinks to open up and start preparing the New Year Sale early. Takings have been down in all three of the shops that he owns and he felt that they needed to compete for sales by opening on Boxing Day. Twinkles was not a happy bunny. We had a few tears and tantrums because he said Christmas was ruined, what use was one frigging day! He wouldn�t be able to enjoy himself properly.
We did have a nice Christmas in the end. I bought him a new mobile phone, pink of course and a designer handbag he�d coveted, which he loved, though to my surprise his favourite gift turned out to be something I�d done as a stocking filler. I made a book compiled from entries from my Diary. It took me ages to do. I had a nice cover designed and then had it printed up on a self-publishing site. He was thrilled, he really was. It gave him such a kick to see his name on a book and to be its subject. He keeps it in the drawer of his bedside cabinet and keeps dipping into it and recalling some of the incidents in it. He made me autograph it and said it was nice to be married to an author. I of course got a kick out of seeing his pleasure and I was pleased that I�d thought of the idea.
Naturally enough, Boxing Day was a nightmare, especially when it came to getting him up out of bed. Talk about a strop on. Working Boxing Day wasn�t the worst of it either. Mr Scott decided that the shop had to open up on New Year�s Day as well, another first. Twinks was all for handing in his notice. It was hell. He stormed and raged and I seriously considered joining The Navy so I could sail away from it all. Anyway, Don saved the day. With William being a bit better he said he�d work New Year�s Day, it was the least he could do after Twinkles had covered for him. So Twinkles got to enjoy New Year�s Eve in customary style i.e. with a surfeit of cocktails and a run in with Natalie. He was happy.
I�m being called to dinner. He�s made a Chilli and it smells delicious, just what�s needed to keep the cold out.
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