This is Helen. Helen has always hated me. She would run and hide when I came around. If Tom was feeding her I couldn’t go into the kitchen because Helen wouldn’t eat. She never came near me and I was rarely able to pet her. I have never done anything to her, well except for that time I accidently tried to kill her by closing her up in the recliner. It was traumatic for us both. Her neck was being held by one of the metal pieces. Obviously she survived. Well there was also the time she swallowed a sewing needle when she ate the thread. That really wasn’t my fault though because my daughter left it out. Again, after surgery she survived. My goodness, I just realized if she was a child, I’d probably be arrested for child abuse. Really though, I’ve been nothing but gracious to Helen. As I said, Helen has always hated me….until now.
Now she comes and lays next to me on the sofa, she comes for pets while I’m in bed. She lays between my legs while I’m sleeping. Perhaps she has finally forgiven me for almost killing her when she was a kitten. Perhaps the 5th wheel is so small (well relatively, it’s 40.5 feet long) she has nowhere to go or perhaps she has dementia and has forgotten who I am. But I am enjoying the love, for as long as I can.
We were supposed to be or what I thought we were supposed to be, in Philadelphia today or at least Pennsylvania. We are not. I had my camera ready to take a picture of the Pennsylvania sign and it never came. We kept seeing NJDOT signs and finally realized that although our campground is South Philadelphia KOA, we are still in New Jersey. It’s a nice campground and the weather is lovely.
There are some sweet victories at campgrounds. I am always filled with such joy to find an empty washing machine at the laundry. Today was sheet washing day, always a chore because I have to put the things back on. I’ve said before it’s a full contact sport to put sheets on trailer beds. I was super excited to see a new oversized washing machine for not only sheets but blankets. Sometimes there are signs that say no blankets, but thankfully this one did not say that. What made my day even more was I was not the one walking away from the laundry when it was full, that went to someone else.
Something new, I have stopped ironing my clothes. I know, I know. But for those who know me, they know I used to never go anywhere without ironing my clothes. My daughter doesn’t even own an iron. She used to come to my house on the rare occasion she needed one. She also says life’s too short to iron. I am leaning that way. That’s not to say I never iron but it is becoming more rare. I haven’t decided if that’s camp life or retirement life.
Speaking of laundry, the other day Tom decided to heat a breakfast sandwich. I had taken them out of the package and so the directions were no where to be seen. Tom is a direction kind of guy. Here is our conversation.
Tom: How am I supposed to know how to heat these?
Me: I will tell you.
Tom: You’re supposed to know?
Me:
Tom (looking around the corner) while I am staring at him
Me:
Tom: Really, I need to know in case you are gone.
Me: Where am I going?
Tom: Doing laundry or taking a shower
Me: Wrap it in a paper towel, defrost for 90 seconds, turn it over and heat for one minute
Tom: This is not going to be hot enough
Me: I don’t know what to tell you, but that’s the directions.
The microwave dings. Tom eats the breakfast sandwich.
Today was a very short travel day. No stops, 2 hours 15 minutes and we were there. I love those days. So does everyone else her in the McFadden household, cats included. We are here for four nights and ready to see some history. Tomorrow we head to Independence Hall.
I hope you find the small joys in life. Remember life’s too short to iron.
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