The joke...

 

A guy asks his brother to take care of his cat when he goes on vacation.  The brother agrees and the guy heads out for a long-awaited time away.  He calls the brother the next day and asks how the cat is doing.  The brother says, "Oh, the cat died."

The man exclaims, "Why didn't you break that news to me easier?  My vacation is ruined."

The brother asks, "How could I have done that?"

The man says, "You could have told me the cat is on the roof and it seems happy up there and doesn't want to come down.  Then, the next time I called you could have said you had some trouble getting the cat down, but you've taken her to the vet.  Then, the next time I called you could have said that the cat isn't doing well, but the vet is hopeful.  Then, by the end of my vacation you could have said that you had to do the humane thing and help the cat across the Rainbow Bridge."

"I understand," said the brother, "I'm sorry."

The man says, "Well, you learned something from all this.  How's Mom doing?"

The brother paused and said, "Um... Mom's on the roof."

It's an old joke, but I'm an old guy.  I was concerned that Steph would call while I was working on top of the motorhome yesterday, and not getting an answer on my phone, would call Joan and ask, "How's Dad?"

And... Joan would say... "Dad's on the roof."

(rimshot)

I was in working while on my knees for almost all of the "roof time" yesterday.  About 5 hours worth.  I would stand every once in a while to get feeling back in my legs.  Joan has a garden pad I used to keep my knees from getting raw.  It worked, for the most part.  I was using muscles I hadn't used in a long time, and today, the backs of my thighs, up through my ass, and into my lower back remind me of that roof time with every move I make.

As my Mother used to say, "Getting old isn't for sissies."  Or, another thing I recall reading: "Welcome to your 'Golden Years' - hope you like ibuprofen."

The woman from the insurance company I spoke with asked, "Was anyone hurt?"

I should have answered, "No, but I'm gonna be."

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Joan told me she has "blue tape envy"... I didn't understand.

She said, "You know how when they replace a windshield in your car, they put blue tape on it to hold things in place for the first 24 hours?  I saw a lot of blue tape on windshields when I came back into the park yesterday.  Those people got new windshields."

Our turn is scheduled for Tuesday.