It's the Thought That Counts

     My weekend of helping out family changed rather quickly. My great niece decided she wanted to go to the youth night at the local YMCA. I wasn't quite sure why that mattered to my niece about going out, but she said she couldn't find anyone that wanted to do something after 8:30. I could have picked up her daughter, but as my niece had already altered her plans, I didn't suggest that. My niece figures things out in her head as to what works, and it would have been unsettling to her to change up her thinking again. She has good days and hard days still coping as a single mom and grieving for her husband, and it's better to just take helping cues from her, rather than do planning for her. She knows my friend G from them both working part time at a shop (that has now closed and opened a smaller shop only open weekends). She told my friend that even stepping a toe into the dating water is harder because unlike divorced parents, she doesn't have another parent to take the kids when she goes out. I know that would be the same for lots of single parents that the other one is not in the picture, but for young widows, adds another layer of dating complexity. 

     Through texting my niece, I learned that her mom and day, who I was bringing to the airport, were now riding with another car pool that decided they did have enough room. I called to confirm, and I was apparently just about to be called. So what started as a weekend babysitting and then an early morning airport run, became me getting in bed by 10:30, and not getting out of bed until 7:00. Do I get points for being available and willing to help? The first Friday I have available now is March 20th, so my niece said she will find something to do if I offer to babysit, even if it means taking herself out and sitting alone. It was too bad my daughter was gone for the weekend. They could have perhaps done something together, if my daughter was free. 

     I'm grateful my neighbor is willing and available to walk pup tomorrow. Most likely he'll greet her a the door, they'll do their walk, and she'll bring him home and off she'll go, but I don't want the chaos of the houses current state to be the subject of neighborhood gossip. I'm just kidding-I've never heard her say an unkind word about anyone, even when we've had some doozy of neighborhood antics over the years. Still, I'm going to power clean and hopefully make time to get a few mini loaves of banana bread made to gift her and take to DD2 tomorrow. Laundry is started already and I'm giving myself a bit more time to read blogs I have been woefully behind reading. We'll need to stop at Walmart for dog food after the show choir event tonight as it is right by the school. The dog food, along with my $18 over spend yesterday, will put me over my monthly H&G budget by $50. Still, considering I include everything, food for both people and pet, cleaning, and personal grooming, I'm under the $400 average per month to stay under $5,000 for the year. I was just hoping to make up more ground from January. There's still March.