I will stay over at Auntie M�s Thursday eve, in order to be enlightened on the previously-unseen-by-flashingreds wonders of what tornadoali likes to call the G-Spot, courtesy of the ewenorker. Maybe even tornadoali, if she�s free. We shall have ourselves a lovely little post-family-madness time, whilst all you fools awaken before dawn and camp out at the mall, so you can grab your half-price down comforters. (Note: The color or nationality of the geese does not determine quality.)
Surely you won�t, will you? What will you do?
Today is not a bit like Monday should be. The impending holiday has leant a slight air of frivolity to our room, yielding discussions of such pressing professional matters as the attributes and styles of Hoosier cabinets.
I wish I could say I�m looking forward to seeing the family. I feel obliged to say that I think it, but with each passing year, I find myself feeling more and more envious of friends with family so far away (or worse) that they�re free to do as they like on holidays. I�d love to stay home, cook all day, and have a pack of pals come by. In short, I crave a holiday without guilt, inasmuch as what one does or who one is will always be a source of dissatisfaction or discourse for someone else in the family.
A few years ago I was quite ill on New Year�s (and snowed in) and couldn�t go to a cousin�s wedding. I feel certain my aunt hasn�t ever forgiven me, but I was so much happier lying on the couch, watching the snow, and clutching my stomach to keep my insides from popping out when I coughed. Alas, it will not be so this time around. I will do my best to let the disparaging comments fall on deaf ears, and if it gets too bad, I�ll go outside with the smokers. I�ve always suspected they�re drinking out there, too.
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One more small report from the weekend: Yesterday M. Kat�s mom and I drove to a nearby small town, ostensibly to view their holiday parade. We actually visited the antique shops, theoretically shopping for holiday gifts.
Once in a while we�d peek outside a shop window or catch a glimpse of the parade as we walked in between stores, and it was rather scary. A few nice floats, lots of police cars and fire trucks, a parade of Jeeps (one of which had clearly just been muddin�), Shriners on tractors and several marching bands with fewer than 40 members, including their color guards. It really was quite a spectacle, complete with radio commentary by Pork from The Whip. To think I wanted to move. Heh.
On the way home we stopped at the nursing home to visit my former downstairs neighbors. W. is good, and his wife is as well as she�s been the last few years. She had a stroke about this time of year 2 years ago. Most days she�s fairly alert, but it�s frustrating to her that she can�t articulate what she�s thinking. W. mostly ignores her now, knowing that he can�t help calm her down. We weren�t there long, but it was hard to hear her plea �take pity on me� and not feel like I should do something.
If they were all actually my family, my duties would be over.