Share Your World – Week 10

It’s Hump Day once again and time for another installment of Cee’s Share Your World challenge.

This week’s questions:

When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?

Neither, actually. The only candles I own are scented gel candles I made when I was working at the candle factory in Newport and those are only lit to drive out the odor of The Kid.

I have at least half a dozen flashlights stashed around the place and one in the pocket of whatever jacket I’m wearing at the time. Flashlights in a travel trailer are a must – every cabinet is too deep and/or located nowhere near a light fixture or window and if you want to see into the murky depths you must bring your own light.

When the power goes out I don’t notice unless the TV is on as the cable box quits working. I keep Towanda’s batteries charged up so a power outage doesn’t change my routine. The stove, fridge and hot water heater all run on propane and the lights are all LED and draw very little power from the batteries.

The furnace also runs on propane but the furnace fan is electric, making a prolonged power outage a problem if the weather is very cold as it will draw down the batteries in no time at all. I need to research a different heat source and have been toying with the idea of a tiny wood stove. I think I have the installation bugs worked out but will have to find an affordable tiny stove option.

You are given $5,000 and the chance to exchange it for one of two envelopes. One envelope contains $50,000 and one contains $500. Do you make the trade? Why or why not?

I’d keep the $5K. It’s not a small amount and I could finance a lot of projects with that kind of dough. Sure, 50K would be great, but why risk ending up with only $500 when 10 times that much is already in my hand?

What’s your first memory?

I honestly don’t know if my earliest “memories” are real or the pictures planted in my head of the stories told around them. Right at this moment my mind is blank.

What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? Do you count sheep, toss and turn, or get up and try to do something?

Hahahahahahahaha! Trouble falling asleep is not a problem I have ever had. Sometimes I can’t stay asleep or I wake too early, but falling asleep is not an issue. If I wake up during the night it’s usually for a reason, like needing to turn the water on to keep the pipes from freezing, so repeating that routine (get up, use the bathroom, turn on the kitchen faucet for 30 seconds or so, go back to bed) is enough to send me back to sleep.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

My Kid got a job! A job where he won’t be in my space 24/7! A job that requires him to shower every day and brush his teeth and keep his shoes clean! I am so grateful he will be somewhere other than in my pocket for 30 hours a week and looking forward to a long and continued employment so he can move out on his own for good.

That makes me sound like a Bad Mom, doesn’t it? People don’t want to hear this sort of thing. Noreen, the park manager, is just thrilled that I have my “baby” back at home “where he belongs” and can’t get over how lucky I am. I try not to sneer, but holy fuck I already did this and isn’t it my turn to have a life?

I mean, he’s great, really. We have very similar personalities and he’s respectful about the space and walks the dog and lets the cat boss around someone other than me, but Towanda has been a penis-free zone for two years and opening the door and smelling MAN is Just Not Right.

I’m here for him as long as he needs me and I would never kick him out on his ass (although I have had a couple of vivid daydreams) but he needs to GO be an adult somewhere else.

Anyone else feel that way about their adult kids? Just me? Am I a horrible person?