01 September, 2016

Just to Keep me Grounded

We take a break from the regular bulletins on how the move to China is going, to tell you about my douche-twat little brother.

I am once again borrowing portions of this prompt from Paula Kaye at Smidgens, Snippets and Bits for some thought-starters. I decided it would be better than the rant I started. It’s just a concise way for me to NOT rant. I hope.

AS I PONDER....
I’m overwhelmed with thoughts about family dynamics, as we prepare for the whole family to get together this holiday weekend. I’m the 4th of 5 children, and for the first time in over 10 years, we are all on the same continent. For a while.

WHAT I AM LEARNING...
My baby brother has opted to take his two sweet fairy princesses to visit their maternal great-grandmother, which would be understandable if this cookout weekend hadn’t been planned for months, and if said Great-grandmother had made any contact in the past four years while my parents took care of the littles! (The mother barely makes contact near-ish to Christmas and the birthdays.)

WHAT I'M READING....
My mother’s facebook message to myself and my other siblings this morning. This will be the first – and possibly last – opportunity to get pictures of the full family, since I’m moving to China soon.

WHAT I'M WATCHING...
I see red. That is all.

WHAT'S ON MY CAMERA...
Well, I tell you what WON’T be on it – pictures of the whole family! That’s what! Typical.

WHAT I'M DRINKING....
There isn’t enough alcohol in the world to drown my annoyance at this situation. HOWEVER, I found some DogfishHead Punkin Ale at Target on my lunch, so I intend to avail myself of that when I get home.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE KITCHEN...
We are trying to get rid of food we have on hand. My grocery lists are almost entirely perishables. I cook rice on the regular.

A QUOTE I WANT TO SHARE...
I'm so glad we were able to elevate my mom's mood:
 
 Also on a positive note, I was not able to get a professional photographer for this weekend. So - Money Saved!

LOOKING FORWARD....
This weekend may not be what we expected, but my other brother and I responded quickly to Mom’s annoyed message, and seem to have her back in good spirits. I would hate for one person’s absence (well, 3, counting his kids) to deflate the day for the rest of us.
We will take many pictures, play some pinochle, cookout, drink some, and some of the teens are staying with Brett and myself. So that will be fun and full of video games and pizza.
I’m talking with the eldest of us later today, and want to suggest we all bring flowers or something for Mom, who really is upset by this.

NOTE: I do realize that perhaps this great-grandma is in ill health and it may be a last chance, but if she hasn't even inquired about the girls in FOUR YEARS... Why should she get preferential treatment?

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like your brother has a wifey control thing. Enjoy your visit with the ones that come. It wouldn't be family if there wasn't plenty of bumps in the relationship. With family you have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt unless they are running full throttle at you with a knife pointed at you. But that is the extreme and a joke, but have a good time. It really is a wonderful opportunity that you and your family get to live in China.

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    1. Ugh. Ain't in the truth! I do intend to enjoy my last visit with the other siblings, their kids, and our parents.

      And there is no wife in the picture, which is why this move is so confusing. She was ... not a good mommy and has no custody at all, and not a part of the girls' lives. Ah well. He's an adult, he can make his own decisions!

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  2. Oh how I love dysfunctional family dynamics. NOT!! We have much of the same thing going on with my family all the time. A few years ago I decided not to participate in their games any more. So I see little of any of them. It is sad that your brother couldn't have made some kind of concession to satisfy both families. Take mom some flowers and have a great time!

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    1. In the "misery loves company" department, every person I mentioned this to said about the same thing. Seems there is not a family that is exempt from some kind of idiocy/games. Nice to know I'm not alone!

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  3. UGH family! Love them like no one else in the world while simultaneously wanting to throat punch them.
    I hope the weekend turned out better than anticipated, even with a shortage of attendees.

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    1. It was great. Everyone got along, and there was only one conversation (that I know of) about the brother's absence. Otherwise: ignored!

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  4. I'm with ya... your mom should get dibs. Kudos to you for finding a way to lighten her mood though - maybe, if you have some Photoshop skillz (or just some mediocre Microsoft Paint skills like me), you could put your nieces in the family picture in editing! That might bring some much-needed hilarity to an annoying situation.

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    Replies
    1. Several people mentioned photo-shopping them in. Your "much-needed hilarity" statement makes me think we could photo-shop them in in humorous ways. That would, indeed, be funny!

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I enjoy a good debate. Feel free to shake things up. Tell me I'm wrong. Ask me why I have such a weird opinion. ...or, just laugh and tell how this relates to you and your life.