Without really meaning to Robbie left me feeling old and past it (whatever 'it' might be). It set me thinking about what old really means. As a child on the rare occasions that I was brave enough to ask my grandma how old she was, she would tell me that she was as old as her tongue and a little bit older than her teeth. I was never brave enough to point out that she was considerably older than her teeth - she had a new and rather wayward set of dentures! My mum (who was 29 when I was born) always claimed to be 23, in fact she remained 23 until she was well into her 50s!! My younger daughter longed to be 18 so that she could be an adult and do all the things she wanted to do. My older daughter who is 22 was furious the other day when she was asked for ID to buy a DVD with a 12 classification! She hates looking younger than her years.
So it seems to me that most people are not totally happy with their age, that is just the way life is. It is no wonder that I feel old when I have to cope with Robbie and his many and varied moods. You should have seen him today, he had a massive strop because he sat on some bird poo, but thankfully his bad mood didn't last too long. One way or the other life with Robbie is always eventful! Perhaps I have a few (or more) grey hairs, perhaps I am getting old, who cares. John Barrymore said "A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams" I am not ready to give up on my dreams, so by that measure I am still young!
I have written about our cat with two names many times. His Sunday best name is George but the children called him Dave, they think it is a cool name for a cat, he is named after Grandad because neither has any teeth but both cope admirably without them! I love that cat, so on Christmas morning I decided to cook the giblets from the turkey for him. At one point my son wandered into the kitchen and asked what was in the saucepan. I was busy and I replied absent mindedly "it's the bits from the turkey". Sam then lifted the lid of the pan and slammed it down again horrified, he had mistaken the neck for a completely different part! Sam must imagine that there are turkeys running around endowed with 'bits' that a horse would be proud of!!
When Sam was mugged in December he was in the middle of some dental work, but he was kicked and punched so badly around the head and face that all his teeth were unsettled and he couldn't tolerate anyone touching his face. We rescheduled his appointment for April to give everything a chance to settle down, but last week he started to get bad tooth ache and we had to make an emergency trip to the dentist. Sam hates to be touched at the best of times, but after all that he has been through he found the dentist a terrible ordeal. He was very brave, the dentist managed to deal with the aching tooth in the end but she had to keep stopping because Sam was uncomfortable. Why does everything have to be so complicated.
The wanderer has returned from his busy weekend playing trains and he is now sitting in the corner snoring and the dog is sprawled on the floor also snoring! I shouldn't moan at least while he is dozing it gives me a break from listening to tales of his wonderful trip to Swanage. He didn't seem so interested in my adventures over the last few days, I don't blame him it really.
On Friday I went to the dentist, only minor treatment needed, the pain was financial rather than physical! The trip to the dentist was followed by a trip to the vet for George the cat, he was also in need of dental work. He had all his teeth out soon after we got him because they were in a bad state and causing him pain, but recently a fragment of tooth or root has come up through his gum and it looked inflamed and painful. Typically the fragment came out on Friday morning before we went to the vet, George needed antibiotics to help with the infection. More financial pain for me and serious indignity for George.
Unfortunately George gets travel sick, on the way to the vet he vomited and on the way back disaster struck he had a serious bowel accident. When we got home I opened the cat box carefully because he was covered, but he shot out of the box and hid under the table – thank goodness we don't have carpet! I dashed to the kitchen for wipes and cleaning materials and by the time I returned George had managed to 'pebble dash' the dog as well. I was starting to lose the will to live, but after an entertaining hour bathing the cat and washing the dog I managed to get the house cleaned up. After that it was back to the same old routine, laundry, shopping, cooking, taking people here and there and then fetching them back again. There was also the little matter of getting the cat to take his tablets!
Laura had her first driving lesson yesterday, she loves cars and she has been longing to be able to drive so it was a big day for her. She said the lesson went well and she is really looking forward to her next lesson. It will be nice not to be the only driver in the family.
Dave the cat has made an amazing recovery from having his teeth out, it certainly hasn't stopped him eating and he is chasing around the house like a kitten, so he is obviously feeling better.
Robbie had to replace the hedge cutter because the old one was beyond economical repair, so on Sunday we went to get a new one. The hedge was so out of control that it was almost impossible to walk up the path to the house. Robbie cut the most important bits on Sunday evening, but it is too exhausting to do it all in one go, so he planned to do the hedge at the side of the drive on Monday evening. Unfortunately I didn't spot the deliberate mistake, had left the hedge cutter in the boot of my car so it went to work with me and he had the perfect excuse to play with his new laptop instead!
Dave the cat was having a lazy morning relaxing on his favourite cushion when I ambushed him. Before he knew it he was bundled into the cat carrier and we were heading for the vet's. Disaster struck when I drew into the car park, Dave who is always travel sick vomited through the bars of his carrier and all over the gear leaver, thank goodness I always carry wet wipes and bin bags!
We went in to see the vet, he looked at Dave's few remaining teeth and Dave managed to run through his entire repertoire of swear words while his mouth was being held open. Much to his disgust the vet decided that he needs to have his teeth out, so he will have a course of antibiotics and the deed will be done at the end of next week, Dave particularly objected to the instruction that he has to starve from 6pm the previous evening! It sounds dramatic to remove his teeth, but he only has two teeth and a couple of stumps where the roots are still in his jaw, a legacy from his time as a stray. Apparently cats cope quite well without teeth. It will cost a small fortune, but it will be worth it if it makes him more comfortable, he has only been with us since last November, but I really love him. I told Robbie that Dave would have to have false teeth and he believed me! When we got home Dave took himself to bed and stayed there all day, he was cross with me for plotting against him, but by tea time he was back to his usual hungry self!
I was a busy night last night as Emily returned from her tour or Poland with the Northamptonshire County Youth Concert Band. It was so great to have her back. Anyway, everybody was busy doing their own thing when Sam came along and asked a 'robbie special' 'Mum....Do teeth have skin?' To be honest we didn't really answer it, we just laughed it off as yet another question.....but you start to wonder what the true answer is........don't you...?
