Rolling Back The Years

The Orkin Exterminator man came by yesterday. The story of Terry is an interesting one.

When I first arrived here full time over four years ago, Mom had several services in place.

• Paula, a gal across the street, had been cleaning house for over 25 years. Although I've since told her I didn't need her for the house anymore, we go way back to the time before I moved so we still chat and go on exercise walks together.

• There is the TruGreen lawn care man who comes to fertilize the grass and make sure there are no pests. We get grubs here that munch at the roots of the grass and kill it. They are the larvae stage of Japanese beetles and can devastate a lawn.

• We have the older couple that have mowed the lawn since I left. I've kept them on, too, since my brother took my Mom's lawnmower somewhere along the way. Honestly, if I'm going to do yard work, I'd rather spend it in the gardens planting flowers.

• Then there's Terry the Orkin man. We've had carpenter ants here in the house since I was little. At some point, Mom hired Orkin Exterminators to come in and finally get rid of them. They're gone, but we've kept Terry on because we don't want them back. Turns out that Terry is the son of my Mom's best friend when they were growing up. She and Iva would have sleep overs all the time, go swimming in the river, etc. Of all the things that Mom has forgotten, she'd remember Iva when Terry showed up. (She thinks Terry is her husband, though, and not her son.) She'd send her best and ask him to have Iva stop by to visit. He would but they are a half hour away and too much for Iva to make the trip. But, the good news, is that she is five minutes from the assisted living center and Terry told me that Iva intends to stop by and see Mom.

Now, more about Terry. I'm openly gay but I don't tell everyone about it that walks through the door. I went through that stage back in the 90's. And, I suspect, that Terry is the same way. He's been married (to a lesbian) and has four adopted kids. A situation where no one would question his sexuality. Until, that is, I spotted an Equal Sign logo sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his clipboard. (Turns out, he made sure I saw it!)

Terry and I are now out to each other and have grand conversations when he comes over. No sexual tension between us...he's 15 years older than me and likes young Asian men.

Anyway, to the point of my story, he told me that I have lost 5 years off the look of my face since the last time he saw me. He can tell that the stress is melting away. I'm still a bit on the nervous side, and would probably be a total mess without the new script of Pristiq, but it was nice to get a compliment and know that others are noticing a change.