Push "START"

Sort of like in the Prius where I just push the START button and the little gas sipper comes to life, so is my life.
I knew that taking the job with the State would signify a new phase. When Mabel had her issue with her elbow and managed to get admitted first to the Hospital and then to a nursing home I could not know how much my life was to change.
While in the hospital and home I have seen my mother nearly everyday. It is tiring, I have lists, I listen to complaints (although after my weekend talk with her I have heard very few complaints), I still do laundry but no longer "have" to cook. The room is ready at Casa del Sol, the Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) where mom will hopefully live out her life. The home is in the Chula Vista area. Due to traffic and work I will now be visiting only on the weekends. Hopefully she will form bonds with the people there.
I even get to give up cat duty. It is just so much more gross to clean out that litter box then it is to pick up dog poop while walking. I imagine it is the fact that once the poop is picked up there is nothing remaining of that process. However, the cat litter is not just in the box, it is on the sink, it is on the floor, on the bed. Additionally the whole pooping thing takes place outside, the cat litter is inside and even with removal there is still that smell.......
My life is still in such a flux state I don't dare make too many long range plans. Next weekend will see me running off to Sacramento again, returning by way of Paso Robles (yeah, they aren't really close to each other but I CAN DO THIS NOW!! Dog sitting has always been easier to arrange than Mabel sitting. I can go out with my friends and I don't have to come home by a certain hours.

And sometimes the most pleasurable thing is just sitting in my peaceful house knowing that there is nothing I MUST do. Maybe I will get lonely but this isn't like that short period (5 months) of my life where my daughter moved out and mom moved in...... I am ready for this one. Pray my battery lasts a long time cause I want to relish this for quite a while.