Really, He is Just a Big Kid, a Random and Happy Tuesday A to Z Challenge Post

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.   

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

The countdown is on.  Carl only had work yesterday and today, and he has work next Monday and Tuesday, and the week after, he will be moving away.

We're all thrilled and sad at the same time.  He'll be missed, he'll be living his best life in a place geared to people with his needs.

Meanwhile, though, there was a room to clean, work to do, a lunch to pack, and etc.

Carl's room was as usual, mess upon mess, and i went to the laundry area.  It finally happened, they are down to 3 dryer balls.  As i worked i searched for the other two, to no avail.  I'll be back on Thursday to clean the rest of the house, so who knows, i have found them in Ms. V's clean laundry, too.

For the first time in a long while, the clothes in the dryer, all 3 items, didn't really smell that great, so they went back for another round.  

Also, as often happens when i'm sorting and gathering dirty items, i found a shirt on a hanger inside out.  We know it means he took it off after wearing it, thought it was clean because all the mess was on the inside, and hung it back up later when straightening the room.  Sure enough, it joined the rest of the dirty pile.

Carl's good suit jacket was hung up in the closet all askew.

And it had a bit of food on it, mostly inside by the lining.  Then I found this.

His good suit pants, taken off with the sock in such a way the pant leg was still stuffed into the sock.  Carl is talented that way.

All of his ties were out, including the Christmas tie.  I'm guessing he thought it was in the running to be worn to whatever it was he was going to, and his mother said no.

The suit pants and the nice dress shirt i found later showed he'd worn them somewhere food was served and while i just spot cleaned the jacket, the pants and shirt had to be washed with the rest of the laundry.

As usual, the bathroom was cleaned and ready for him to get his shower and two loads of laundry were going when Carl looked up from his sleep chair and said, "Just five more minutes, please?" as i went through to get cleaning supplies.  I told him his timer still had fifteen minutes on it and he looked quite pleased.

When he was done with both the sleeping and the shower, it was time to make lunch.

His fridge actually had some things in it, mostly breakfast things, which he grabbed to consume right away.  We went to the kitchen where Ms. V was up at an uncharacteristically early hour.

I told her i'd noticed his suit and been careful to spot clean the jacket and get the pants and shirt out of the dryer promptly and hang them up, and she said, "Yes, he went to the Gala!"

Some might remember last Friday there was a big event, Ms. A and Mr. J went and i stayed with Becca.  It was a big bash for our pastor, who is retiring.

Oh, how was it? i asked Carl, and he mumbled a few answers, but he was grinning and Ms. V said, "He told us a little about it, he had a good time.  It was totally spontaneous, he bought his own ticket because he wanted to go and we put together his suit as fast as we could."

She also told me he'd left the house looking very dapper, and came home with his shirt half untucked, his tie sideways and his jacket askew, as well as his fly partially unzipped.  Oh, well, as we both noted, he grew up in this church and everyone knows and loves him and would write it off to, "That's Carl!"

I told her the suit was now clean again and ready for the next adventure and she was pleased.  She told me she was up to get finished with the work on something she was to submit to the place where Carl is moving.  Once she gets it in, she will start working with him on packing, buying clothes and linens, and other general prep work.

We had a good talk about things.  Ms. V loves Carl to the moon and back, but as a mama, we're meant to be mama for 18 years or so, and then they take on most of their own care.  With a special needs adult child, it doesn't happen.  She's been responsible for him for almost 45 years.  She will miss him like crazy but be so happy for him to be in a safe place where she doesn't have to worry about him all the time as she does now.

Once again, i suggested she get him very nice silk washable sheets so he won't feel the need to use his pajamas wrapped around his pillows to make them feel nicer on his skin.  She likes the idea, but we'll see how it plays out.

Meanwhile, it was time to pack his lunch and i did, and he talked a bit about the Gala and the fun he had, and how he got to see Sam (the girl he is sweet on) Sunday.  He asked me what other events are planned at church, and i told him i would give his mother the announcement list and he could read all about them.

His leaving for work was the usual run around and gather and make sure of everything, and he left in plenty of time.  

And i found one last thing.

Yes, he bought sidewalk chalk.  No matter what, he's really just a big kid at heart, and it's not going to be the same without him.

How about some funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Administrative Professionals Day (original date)

Aggie Muster -- Texas A&M University

Birthday of Rome -- Rome, Italy (753 BCE)

Feast of Wadjet (a/k/a Udjet or Buto) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

First Day of Ridvan -- Baha'i (began sunset yesterday; through May 2)

Grounation Day -- Rastafari (one of the Rastafarian's most important festivals, in honor of Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica)

Heroica Defensa de Veracruz -- Mexico (Heroic Defense of Veracruz)

Iroquois Corn Planting Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (three-day celebration, always around this time of year)

John Muir Day -- US (American conservationist)

Kartini Day -- Indonesia (honoring a leader who helped emancipate women)

Kindergarten Day -- Germany; US (birth anniversary of Friedrich Froebel, in 1782, who began the first Kindergarten in Germany in 1837)

Mibu Dainembutsu Kyogen -- Mibu Temple, Kyoto, Japan (nine-day festival of kyogen performances which dates back to 1299)

National Chocolate-Covered Cashew Truffle Day

National Library Workers Day -- US (always the Tuesday of National Library Week)

National Tea Day -- Great Britain (on Queen Elizabeth II's birth anniversary)

National Tree Planting Day -- Kenya

Paralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (shepherd's festival of Pares, goddess of herders)

San Jacinto Day -- Texas, US

St. Anselm of Canturbury's Day

St. Bueno Gasulsych's Day (Patron of diseased cattle, sick animals, and sick children)

Tiradentes Day/Brasilia Day -- Brazil (honors Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, called "tooth puller", who fought for Brazilian independence)

     Inauguration of Brasilia, Distrito Federal -- Brazil (anniversary of the 1960 inauguration of the new federal capital)

World Creativity and Innovation Day -- final day of World Creativity and Innovation Week, which always begins on DaVinci's birth anniversary

Yom HaZiKaron -- Israel (Memorial Day; ends at nightfall)

Yom Ha'Atzmaut -- Israel (Independence Day; begins at sunset, through nightfall tomorrow)

Birthdays Today:

Robert Smith, 1959

Andie MacDowell, 1958

James Morrison, 1954

Tony Danza, 1951

Patti LuPone, 1949

Iggy Pop, 1947

Charles Grodin, 1935

Elaine May, 1932

Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, 1926

Anthony Quinn, 1915

John Muir, 1838

Charlotte Bronte, 1816

Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, 1782

Catherine the Great, 1729

Jan van Riebeeck, 1619

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Annie"(Musical), 1977

"Inherit the Wind"(Play), 1955

"Arms and the Man"(Play), 1894

Today in History:

Traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, BC753

Marc Antony continues to battle the senators who assasinated Julius Caesar in the Battle of Mutina, which he loses, BC43

Henry VIII ascends the throne of England, 1509

Hernan Cortez lands in Veracruz, 1519

The Maryland Toleration Act is passed, granting religious freedom to all in that colony, 1649

Catherine the Great ends noble privileges in Russia, 1785

Tiradentes, leader of the independence movement in Brazil, is executed, 1792

Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat Mexican troops under Santa Ana, winning the Battle of San Jacinto and the independence of Texas, 1836

The first train crosses the first bridge over the Mississippi River, crossing from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa, 1855

Alexander Douglas patents the bustle, 1857

Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i' faith, declares his mission, 1863

The first firehouse pole is installed in a firehouse in NYC, 1878

The Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen)is shot down, 1918

The first Aggie Muster is held, a remembrance of fellow Texas A&M graduates who had died in the previous year, 1922

Brasilia is officially inaugurated as the capital of Brazil, 1960

In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang, 1989

Alexander Wolszczan announces his the discovery of extrasolar planets, 1994

The ashes of Timothy Leary and Gene Roddenberry are launched into orbit, 1997

By order of an Egyptian court, the name of Egypt's former President, Hosni Mubarak, is stripped from public spaces, schools and streets, 2011

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the Extinction Rebellion protest in London, 2019

The ex-president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández extradited to the US to face drug trafficking and weapons charges, 2023

The Vatican announces the death of Pope Francis, 2025