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Saturday Oct 24, 2015 #
Note
On the regular drives to Litchfield and back to visit mom, the mind often dwells on family matters. Today was no different.
I have often thought, and sometimes said, that my family is somewhat wacko (myself included), and over the years there have certainly been sufficient examples of such behavior to give some credence to the thought. Of course, it wasn't like we had the field all to ourselves -- the phrase "dysfunctional family" seems quite the redundancy. But I did feel that we held our own in the competition.
However, my confidence in this regard took a major blow when we were in Greece. At dinner the second night there, the conversation at some point turned away from our family and to that of my brother's friend (and our guide in Athens). It seemed there were some issues with her in-laws and she wasn't all that fond of them, though her husband seemed to deal with them OK.
The in-laws were visiting soon. What were they interested in doing? Well, at least one, a guy, wanted to go shopping, and I believe we were challenged to guess what he might be shopping for. After a few tries, and no correct answers -- you will see why in a moment -- she let the cat out of the bag. He was in search of Nazi war memorabilia to add to his already substantial collection.
That's really not fair. How do you compete with that? You think you have a pretty wacko group, but really you're still in the minor leagues.
We laughed, and laughed, and laughed....
You know, my sister is actually pretty cool, all things considered. :-)
---------
A conversation yesterday at my PT session. My therapist is a very pleasant young woman, and while she was giving my back a good going-over, she mentioned plans for the weekend, "We're going to Providence..."
I asked who the "we" was.
My girlfriend and another friend.
Are you in a serious relationship?
8 years.
Are you going to get married?
We're engaged.
Cool.
And with that ensued a nice discussion of her family, of growing up in a small town in upstate NY, of her often challenging journey to where she is now. An accepting father but a mother that will never accept, one brother who is cool but whose wife doesn't miss an opportunity to say that she will burn in hell, a couple other brothers who were mostly OK with it.
I said it must be really nice to live in the area (Northampton is one of the most lesbian-friendly places in the country). It was so nice, she said, people are so friendly, so much better than where I grew up.
At some point the appointment was over, though I lingered a bit, the conversation not quite done. Maybe my back was a little better. My soul certainly was. And my family was up another notch in the direction of sanity and respectability.
I have often thought, and sometimes said, that my family is somewhat wacko (myself included), and over the years there have certainly been sufficient examples of such behavior to give some credence to the thought. Of course, it wasn't like we had the field all to ourselves -- the phrase "dysfunctional family" seems quite the redundancy. But I did feel that we held our own in the competition.
However, my confidence in this regard took a major blow when we were in Greece. At dinner the second night there, the conversation at some point turned away from our family and to that of my brother's friend (and our guide in Athens). It seemed there were some issues with her in-laws and she wasn't all that fond of them, though her husband seemed to deal with them OK.
The in-laws were visiting soon. What were they interested in doing? Well, at least one, a guy, wanted to go shopping, and I believe we were challenged to guess what he might be shopping for. After a few tries, and no correct answers -- you will see why in a moment -- she let the cat out of the bag. He was in search of Nazi war memorabilia to add to his already substantial collection.
That's really not fair. How do you compete with that? You think you have a pretty wacko group, but really you're still in the minor leagues.
We laughed, and laughed, and laughed....
You know, my sister is actually pretty cool, all things considered. :-)
---------
A conversation yesterday at my PT session. My therapist is a very pleasant young woman, and while she was giving my back a good going-over, she mentioned plans for the weekend, "We're going to Providence..."
I asked who the "we" was.
My girlfriend and another friend.
Are you in a serious relationship?
8 years.
Are you going to get married?
We're engaged.
Cool.
And with that ensued a nice discussion of her family, of growing up in a small town in upstate NY, of her often challenging journey to where she is now. An accepting father but a mother that will never accept, one brother who is cool but whose wife doesn't miss an opportunity to say that she will burn in hell, a couple other brothers who were mostly OK with it.
I said it must be really nice to live in the area (Northampton is one of the most lesbian-friendly places in the country). It was so nice, she said, people are so friendly, so much better than where I grew up.
At some point the appointment was over, though I lingered a bit, the conversation not quite done. Maybe my back was a little better. My soul certainly was. And my family was up another notch in the direction of sanity and respectability.
4 PM
run/hike 28:06 [2] 2.52 mi (11:09 / mi) +81ft 10:49 / mi
shoes: pegasus 5
A mix of running and walking, got to keep trying. At least I'm doing my core exercises every day.