Flew to Dallas this weekend to surprise my mom with a 60th birthday party. I felt like a jet setter, flying in then getting my nails done to pass the time. Then I realized I needed a shower before the party (in a big way) so I went into an LA Fitness and they gave me a day pass after I acted like I wanted to join. Stopping to shower at a gym and drying off with the pajamas you packed takes the jet setter feeling away pretty quickly.
Mom was shocked about the party and especially when I came out of the kitchen at the restaurant for the reveal. My grandma, three aunts and two uncles drove out from Kansas and Louisiana and when they showed up she about lost it. It was pretty cool. My uncle Steve, a total cowboy, from Kansas, cracked me up with his one liners and cowboy sensibility. One of my favorites: "Nobody likes to go to bed a loser." I wish I could have videotaped the whole night.
My sister still drives me crazy. We had not seen each other in ten years (!!!) because we do not see eye to eye. I am briquettes on the grill and she is gasoline. I managed to play it cool and not get too worked up. In a group setting it's not too bad but in the car with just her, my step dad and her husband? I thought I might die of being pissed off.
She took Drama in high school and never left class. Everything is either FANTASTIC! or HORRIBLE! and it makes me want to vomit. If I had a dollar for every time she said the word 'fantastic' this weekend it would have paid for my plane ticket. And to say she stretches the truth is an understatement. Here are some examples:
"I'm a child psychologist" What she means is that she has a masters in psych and works with kids. Different from someone with a doctorate. When called out by mom with the doctorate part she says, "Well, I don't have one yet".
"Joe Family Member (named changed) only played baseball in college because his dad did" In reality, Joe's dad never played baseball. Or went to college. But she honestly, seriously, believes her story is correct.
"My friend saw the picture of us on Facebook and asked if we were twins" OK now I'm pissed. Pictures of us when we were each five years old are similar. Thirty years later, she is 50 pounds heavier and...50 pounds heavier. I'm no supermodel but I sure as hell couldn't pass for the twin of a 240 pound woman.
I am hoping, OK praying, that she just texts me and doesn't start to call, now that she has my number. It feels so wrong to not want to hang out with my 'sister', but if she was just a person I knew, I would stay about a thousand miles away. Maybe that's why I live in NC and she's in Missouri. One of the reasons anyway. I used to feel pretty guilty about not trying harder to reach out to her, or about not extending the olive branch one more time. However the guilt I have felt about not having her in my life has been absolved. She is a complete wacko in my eyes and there are very good reasons why I have not seen her in 10 years. Maybe in another 10 things will mellow out?
Am I allowed to digress? I'm not even 100% sure what that means, but overall it was a good weekend. I got to almost make my mom pee in her pants with excitement and laugher (twice!) and was able to see relatives I hadn't seen in a long time. The travel stories at coffee time the day of departure were worth the flight. And spending time with Mark and Lori at the restaurant for a few hours before the party was really super great. Even sleeping on the sofa pull-out wasn't bad because Twig would cuddle with me.
Now I'm home and back to work. Made some headway today and hoping to have programs in place for the Fayetteville VA hospital in the next month or so. Sissy is staying with us while Dewey is in rehab; we placed Sis in Dewey's home then he had a stroke. I'm taking her to see him tomorrow and then he is supposed to go home next week. I'm not really hopeful and she may have to stay with us, which I (and Jason) are totally OK with. Three dogs again! Well she is small, so 2.5 dogs. Maybe the vet will charge us half for her annual visit. ha ha
Wow, that is the most I have written in a long time. Maybe I only like to write when something pisses me off? I was yearning for a laptop or a word processor or something to put my thoughts on paper with while on the plane. I might be on to something. So, wait, this means I haven't been really pissed off in a few months? Holy hell that is freaking amazing!
