Still probably have the world's easiest life, but jeeze louise

[lauradi7dw]

My mother and the caregivers are getting used to the supplemental oxygen lifestyle, and I'm planning to go home on Thursday (yes, it's Thanksgiving. I am traveling ON Thanksgiving, not FOR Thanksgiving, and I'm planning to wear three masks and a face shield and go into isolation that day). I have a detailed list of stuff to get done, and I'm a slacker, so I'm behind (also, why did my mother get three medication reports in April, when she usually gets one a month? Can I just file them without figuring it out?). Then when hauling the laundry in, I noticed a little snake on the garage floor. Walked around it, went to get a dustpan and box so I could take it outside. Mentioned it to the caregiver, who declared that it was a copperhead and chopped it in half with an axe. Yikes. Seems extreme to me, but my mother agreed. (Why is there an axe by the door, and how have I not noticed it before?). The when I went back later to put the laundry basket in its spot, I saw something else slither under a flower pot. Did I need another weird thing to deal with? The garage door to outside doesn't shut all the way, and there are cracks in the pavement, so there are multiple sources of access. It's Sunday afternoon, so I can't call anybody, although I have found a potential number online. Will they require cleaning out the garage and getting the 64 year old garage door fixed or replaced? On a holiday week? During Covid?
I follow herpetologists on twitter, who would probably say walk carefully and leave them alone, but in some sense I'm responsible for my parents *and* six caregivers, most of whom have to go to the garage to do laundry. Venting, I guess. Maybe I will end up being a good citizen after all, and not traveling, because this really isn't a chore the caregivers are required to handle.

Comments

[nosrednayduj]

Thanksgiving travel is often very light, maybe you can get three rows to yourself like I had.

Good luck with the snakes! ("Why'd it have to be snakes?")

[lauradi7dw]

I have traveled on Thanksgiving before and experienced space, which is why I picked it. Years ago, we flew from PVD to Arizona on Southwest on Thanksgiving day. There were the three of us, maybe three other people, and the flight attendants, who gave us a deck of cards and beverage, and ignored us for the rest of the flight. We didn't get to my sister's until after her in-laws has already left, so we ate leftovers rather than a festive meal. It was fine.
My sister found an article about snakes liking to live in garages, so it's a known thing.

[amaebi]

Oh, dear. I hope it at least *was* copperheads. My experience from my snake-filled youth is that people often firmly identify snakes as this viper or that, not necessarily correctly....

Re: Axe: Russell Edson: The Neighborhood Dog