Unsettled

I have a plan. Actually, I have several. I don't know which to use. If any. I need more information and I have to wait for it. The rest of the world is still waking up. So I have to wait. 

One of the pieces of information I need is whether or not it will actually rain here this morning. Because the next yard task involves chemicals, I need to wait to find out. It's tough enough spending a couple hours plus out there every morning - since I've "graduated" to working that long - without needing to repeat it again when stuff has grown back with multi trunks because the stumps still live. The latest forecast is maybe 9:30 for knowing if it will rain or not. By then I pretty much need to be recovering from the job and cleaning up for taking the car in and dropping off videos along the way. So I can't head outside to work off this nervous energy that way.

Sometimes blogging helps, if for nothing else but ordering my thoughts so they make more sense. To me, anyway, as I try to have it make sense to you. There are decisions to be made. Possible actions to be taken. Not that it's my problem, exactly, but I'm trying to figure out whether I can help, or even if I should get involved.

We left one of my sons in Arizona when we came north for the summer. He had/has limited access to the house, and certain responsibilities in exchange for my making the monthly payments on a court ordered fine. He helps me, I help him. He doesn't have access to the whole house for several reasons. First - though not necessarily in order of importance - last summer is the only summer I ever want to be stuck with a $300 / month AC bill. Next, because he's not 55 yet, he's not allowed to stay while we aren't there due to the HOA covenants about it being a senior community. Finally, we don't trust the people he tries to be kind to out on the streets. He has a good heart, but two of them had untreated mental illness issues, and one of those had to be removed by the police after she turned and attacked him. This happened after we left, but we're now extra glad the point was enforced with deadbolts not reachable with keys beforehand. (No puns intended.)

He can be on the property, store his possessions, use the laundry, keep food in his own little refrigerator, cook in a microwave. He cannot stay the night. I'm pretty sure he's not coping well. He keeps a lot from us, like taking three weeks to inform us that the woman he had thrown out after inviting her to use the laundry (already a violation of our rules) had broken his hand by hitting it with his rock hammer. He also took his time to let us know his bicycles had been stolen out of the yard so he no longer had transportation.

His latest issue is more worrisome, and true to form it's been coming in slowly by increasing dribs and drabs. At first he was totally incommunicado. Then he mentioned a spider bite on his neck. No information about what kind of spider, or where he encountered it, or how he even knew it was a spider and not some other venomous desert bug on the back of his neck just under the skull. He did mention he'd been a bit out of it in the week since it happened. 

In this morning's email I see he sent pictures. One is of the red spot on his neck. Three others are of a finger, badly swollen at a joint and with yellow/grayish discolored skin. Another spider bite, he says, without elaboration. He want's to show us because he's on his way to the ER. He doesn't know if they'll remove it. He tries to be flip with something about never giving the finger to a spider because he'll take it. I double check the time stamp and it's last night, after I went to bed. No further updates. 

Without a bicycle he must have walked to the hospital, about a mile and a half. That alone is troublesome because he's saying other stuff about postponing necessary things until he can be made to find them important again. Not only does that speak to his safety along the way, but I'd been trying to reach him about his court matters.

I pay those monthly fees by calling into the court and putting it on my credit card, something he doesn't have. So he pays me, or like now swaps work for it and I make the call. With covid, court doesn't want to actually see anybody. Do it online. Do it over the phone. And periodically, contact the judge for a status update. The people taking the fine payments won't accept one if the judge hasn't been contacted in a timely manner. They put out a warrant for him instead. So I now know that somewhere in his non-rational state post spider bite #1, he missed that latest phone appointment with the judge, because I was so informed when they refused yesterday's payment. That's what he can't feel is inportant right now.

I kinda have a hunch that the court won't agree with that assessment. So somewhere in all my running around today I need to call the hospital, find out has he been admitted, can I get information on his state of health, and how then can/should I relay that information to the court? I envision both/either they come and pick him up, possibly interrupting treatment, or temporarily "forgiving" the missed call and let me pay the fine. OK, yes, great imagination, Heather.

While writing this, I heard rain pattering on the window behind me. At least one question is answered for the day. All else, including my gut, literally,  remains... unsettled.