Rows vs. Columns, My Gingerbread House, and RAGE

Update...

Flooring - Ask dad to start staggering the slats this morning. It doesn't work. The end he started with doesn't line up with slats that you have to cut. So. I now have a mishmash of rows, columns, and staggers. Oh well. We stopped for the night. Dad was SO tired. He was having a hard time picking his feet up and his speech was so slurred that I had to keep asking him what he'd said. Since his stroke, this is an obvious indicator that he's exhausted. I feel so guilty that he's worked himself into this sort of spot. He told my mom that he wants the house to look perfect before Eric gets here next weekend. I hate it even more that he feels that kind of responsibility and pressure.

Squatters - As we moved the baseboards from the front wall, I noticed a huge blackish-brown spot on the back side of the molding. Upon investigation, I realized that it was a hole with bugs in it. Perfect. More inhabitants that don't pay rent. My hope was that these were some sort of wood eating ants but I knew better. I called Terminix (I cancelled my pest control contract with them last month - of course) and ask them what to do. They said they'd send someone out immediately. As soon as they acted excited to send someone out, I knew that this was not going to be cheap. They were seeing dollar signs and I was seeing stars. So, the guy came out and confirmed that the little squatters were termites and that they were in the front wall of the house. I now know that termites find stucco to be a very yummy snack. I finally ask the guy the big question and wanted to know what the financial damage would be to get rid of the critters. He pulled his phone out and started punching in numbers. Then, he just showed me the screen. He didn't even say it out loud. The screen simply read 1320. I'm smart enough to know that they didn't dispatch someone immediately on the chance of making $13.20. I couldn't help it. My eyes welled up and there was no stopping the tears. I know the guy thought I was a loon but that's more than my house payment! He didn't stop there, though. He continued to tell me that we could hire a Terminix contractor to cut the stucco off the front of the house above the soil line for $25 per foot. (There are 23 feet involved). But, since he was such a "nice guy," he told me that I could rent an emery cutter for about $100 and do it myself. This idiot had seen the inside of my house with the flooring going in and he thinks I'm competent to cut the front of my house off? Crap was definitely NOT the word I was thinking. The guy finally asked me if I wanted him to come back on Monday or Tuesday afternoon to do the work. Um, no! When he realized that I was about to completely lose control and have a real live melt-down, he said, "Well, we do have financing. How's your credit?" I wish I could have summoned Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey and had them attack this guy. However, I guess I have to figure something out before the stupid little bugs eat my house like it's some gingerbread house made of cookies and icing. I'm going to make some phone calls on Monday and see what my options are. For now, I guess there's an all night buffet going on in the wall of my living room. (On the bright side, if we hadn't removed the baseboard, who knows how long those little bugs would have gone unnoticed).

I seriously thought I was over having ill-thoughts about Eric when these things happen. This would have happened even if he'd been here. Those bugs don't really care whose house they're nibbling on. But, as I swung the hammer over and over again putting those boards into place, I noticed that dad kept moving further and further back. I have a feeling that the sheer anger swirling around in me right now might just give me enough energy to finish the whole dang floor by myself this afternoon! Swinging that hammer felt pretty good.

Anyway, that's the majority of my day. I'm posting now because once I go retrieve the kids from mom, I have a feeling that it'll be a roller coaster until I drop into bed at whatever time tonight.

So, here's an early, "Good night, all," but I'll also add, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Do termites bite people?