Unfortunately (FOR YOU), I still have a major case of the sorry-for-myselfs. I think Glenna hit it on the head with her comment, where she listed all of the (funny) ways her past Christmases have sucked, but then at the end said that when they didn't go this year, she felt lonely. That's how I feel. Which is weird, because I'm not prone to loneliness. Like, AT ALL. I could spend hours, days, or WEEKS alone and never once pine for my fellow man. So I don't know what my problem is now. Maybe motherhood has turned me into a total emotional PUSSY, which is so ORIGINAL and also HANDY for us stiff-upper-lip types.
I get extra navel-gazey when I have down periods because there is a history of depression in my family. Both of my parents have struggled with it, although by "struggle" I mean act crazy, sporadically take medication, and then never mention it again. So, I am always on the lookout. "Man, I am sad today and I feel like crying because my Google Reader is TOTALLY empty! That's it! The family curse has come to roost!". You get the idea. Anyway, I'm not mental YET, but GIVE IT TIME.
As long as we've gone all Debbie Downer with this post, I might as well tell you about the other things that are irrationally bothering me today:
- Fucking Texas. AD's daycare isn't bringing the kids outside to play today because of "inclement weather". What inclement weather, you say? Well, Jesus H. Christ! It's 50 degrees outside! We can't have your kids dropping dead of exposure on our watch! This is a common theme at daycare, and it makes me want to kick some inconsistent Texas ass. Listen, 50 degree weather, while mildly uncomfortable if you are wearing, say, a bikini and flip-flops, is nonetheless not DANGEROUS. Unlike, say, 95 degree weather, which you do not consider "inclement". But, whatever! You're the one who has to peel my kid off of the window and listen to her screech "OUTSIDE! OUTSIDE!" on the world's most pathetic loop.
- Coffee Schizophrenia. The same person makes our coffee here at work each morning, since she always arrives first. The thing is, there is no rhyme or reason to her methods. One day the coffee will be weak and clear, and the next day you practically have to spoon it out into your cup it's so thick and black. I don't really care either way, I guess, it just makes me wonder. Doesn't she use a recipe? Is it based on her mood, or a random number generator, or what? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
24 comments:
On coffee girl: my guess she is like me and has no idea how to make coffee. Check for a pattern of overcompensation after each day.
On Texas daycare: they would probably call the social services on me. But it's fun to stick your kid in a snow pile so deep that only their head is sticking out--it's kinda like hide and seek.
OMG, here in AZ my MIL acts like 70 degrees calls for a scarf and mittens. When my boy was about 6-7 months old she'd act like I was being a neglectful bitch for having him in a pair of pants and a t-shirt. I hate that cow.
You are cracking me up! My family battles with the depression thing to, actually in a very similar way to yours. My dad thinks it is all a bunch of bunk of course, even though he himself has exhibited multiple signs of it!
i love the fact that living a few states away (and i have the parents who won't come to visit, too.. i have to go to them) makes me enjoy my visits home SO MUCH MORE. more than.. you know.. living with them.
I totally jinxed myself with my cheery comment yesterday, so let me leave you with this, which happened this morning and still gives me an icky feeling in my stomach:
My mom called, on behalf of my aunt, and wanted to know if we had forgotten to give my aunt a present for her birthday (which was yesterday). We gave her a cool book, but obviously it wasn't good/nice/costly enough, because she thought we FORGOT to give her something more.
It really makes me mad, especially since she never gave us any indication of what she would like, even when we asked her point-blank. To top it off, she gave Jason 4 gift cards of unknown value (our guess: $5 a pop) to Advance Auto Parts for Christmas.
WTH? Who would need gift cards to Advance Auto Parts!?! We are never, EVER going to use them!
Goddamn family drama. Hate it.
I don't know about it being linked to motherhood, because last year my sister and her husband decided to stay home and do Thanksgiving with friends, and even though they had a great time they were sad to have missed Thanksgiving with family. Even though one of them always missed Thanksgiving with family because they always went together to one family or the other. So I guess it's just part of the territory.
I am afraid to post about my insane family in detailed terms because I feel so guilty ratting them out publicly. So I'm sorry for the lack of amusing, tragic description on your other post.
P&D-Advanced Auto Parts has GIFT CARDS? That just REEKS of re-gift, doesn't it? Especially since there are FOUR of them.
That's like giving a gift card to a medical supply company. Even if you should find yourself in need of parts, you are unlikely to be the one who will purchase those parts.
Also, you guys are so nice and funny, but you don't HAVE TO be a cranky bitch to comment! I mean, *I* am, but I do accept other worldviews!
Tessie,
(I apologize in advance (auto parts) for bogarting your comments, but I also thank you deeply for letting me vent.)
Oh, yes. Advance Auto Parts has gift cards, as does AutoZone, for which Jason also received a gift card. The weird thing is, we weren't going to be around to celebrate Christmas this year with that side of the family, so my aunt gave us our presents at Thanksgiving.
So either she regifted waaaay early, or else she had bought a ton of gift cards to give out as gifts to the mailman, delivery guy, etc., and just threw a crapload together for Jason. (I got 2 gift cards to Wal-Mart, where I NEVER shop, but it's better than an auto place.)
I totally love your medical supply analogy and I think in the future, if this continues, she's going to be the proud recipient of the weirdest gift cards EVER.
I'm just so mad at how tacky/grudge-filled this side of the family is. As much as her gift to Jason made no sense whatsoever, we would NEVER say anything.
My aunt's birthday is the day after Christmas, so this year, instead of getting her two $20 gifts, we gave her a $30 restaurant certificate and the book. But they're so literal over there, they'll bitch about the gift that cost less than $20 rather than realize the other one cost more. We'd have spent $40 either way, but they don't see it that way.
My mom is famous for this: if she plans on spending $30 and she finds something nice that's $25, she will put a $5 bill or (more likely) some tacky $5 piece of junk in with it, just so it's even. Who cares?!?
At least you're keeping your sense of humor about it. I think you hit the syndrome on the head yesterday: the grass is ALWAYS greener. Especially with family get-togethers. As much as you hate certain aspects of them, you also HATE to miss it. (This is similar to my Vacation Theory - that as terrible as the vacation might turn out to be, given enough time it will sort of gain a Happy Varnish through which you'll view it - every horrid experience becomes "funny", and you even forget some of the more terrible moments like missed flights and lost luggage.)
When I really get bummed over missing the family, I think back to my brother's wedding in July 2006. WORST FAMILY GET-TOGETHER EVER. My sister got into such a snit over me trying to break up a fight between HER and mom that she then took it all out on me. And proceeded to ignore me for the remaining 6 days (and my sister is QUEEN OF THE FREEZE-OUT). Highlights of this event include my husband & I driving around a WalMart parking lot until 2am, with me venting about the entire situation - and when we finally got back to the house, we were locked out and had to attempt to break in through the back sliding glass doors. Of course we woke up the entire house. Classic.
Annnnnd one more thing (I'm bored today, can you tell?): is it just me, or does a Weirdest Gift Card Ever search sound kinda fun? I'm sorta fascinated to find the strangest place to offer a gift card. So far, I think the auto parts places win.
Oh boy, we get to talk about family craziness. The things that run in my family: alcoholism, depression, anxiety, mild OCD, ADHD, various other addictive behaviors. The things that run in my husband's family: alcoholism, MAJOR OCD, anxiety, SEVERE ADHD (diagnosed by me, because none of them will actually go to the doctor about it, even though many of them desperately need medication for it, INCLUDING my husband, who meets EVERY SINGLE ONE of the checklist criteria), various other addictive behaviors.
My kids are doomed. The things they've already had issues with: SEVERE anxiety (though it's getting better as T gets older), OCD, undiagnosed ADHD (but holy shit, it's so frickin' obvious). They're not old enough for the alcoholism yet; maybe next year. ;)
P&D-Okay, I couldn't get past "I apologize in advance (auto parts)". HAHA! I had to PAUSE in my reading for the snorting and laughing.
I agree with you and whimsy, I am now wracking my brain for the most worthless gift cards possible.
Oncologist? Tow-truck company? Whirlpool repairman?
Oh, and whimsy, I saw a sign outside an adult bookstore offering gift cards. Cracked my ass up. Can you imagine finding THAT wrapped under your Christmas tree? Who would you give it to?
Poor Tessie.
I'm with Crystal on the coffee girl. I don't drink it and whenever my mom comes over (with a personal caffeine IV drip) I freak out because I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH COFFEE TO PUT IN THE THINGY! GAH!
My parents used to live far away and one year Phillip didn't have time off and I was BEREFT without family at Christmastime. And while I'm not a big FAN of my fellow man, I need them around lest I get sucked into myopic misery. I happen to be the krazy one in my family and everyone prefers I just don't talk about it. That's why I have a blog. (Which they pretend I don't have. Oh well.)
I am a total crabby hat today. We had a few gift screw-ups this year (wrong item delivered; delivered late; re-delivered still wrong; etc.), and also I got half as many Xmas cards as I sent out, and also there is still another week and a half of school vacation, and also my brother and sister-in-law came for Christmas but seemed detached and unhappy and WHY? and probably it's that they don't love us and we're the half of the family they feel obligated to visit so that they can visit her side, whom they probably LOVE, without hurt feelings.
After reading these posts I'm starting to feel a whole lot better about our family.
JMC,
I am loving the adult bookstore gift card idea!
Either that, or some kind of Democratic gift card. (My aunt is a staunch Republican, to the point that my second cousin ran for some kind of local office and he was on the Democratic ticket and family members did not vote for him.)
Since I have no clue as to how to make coffee, I sort of sympathize with coffee girl. Probably she is just clueless.
As for "inclement weather", I crack up every time it's going to be "cold" here in Alabama. Cover your plants! Check on the elderly! Let your pets indoors because it's going to be a whopping 40 degrees. Brrrr. Silly southerners!
How about a gift card to a local therapist.
Sting.
Okay, I just saw your comment to me on Swistle's blog about losing your whole afternoon trying to figure out where your first-ever comment was, and of course I immediately felt compelled to go to YOUR blog and find my first-ever comment, WHICH I DID because of course it was on the very worthy subject of counting back change. But I did not find it until I had already discovered that you like American Idol, which makes me SO HAPPY because last year during American Idol I only had like three blog readers and nobody ever commented on my Idol posts. But I couldn't NOT post them. I KNEW I was posting too many and yet I was powerless to stop. It was truly beyond my control. So I am glad to see that at least one of my since-found readers will not run away screaming when Idol season starts again.
I would kill a small dog for 50 degree days in the winter. Die little bitch!
Also, the coffee lady? She's messing with you.
We have the same problem with my in-laws! They buy the kids these enormous cold-weather coats that it *never* gets cold enough for here! And they used to dress Supergirl way too hot if she was vsiting them on a "cooler" day. We'd come to pick her up and she'd be sweating!
We all get down sometimes, esp. around the holidays. Also during PMS (for me).
50 degrees is fall, not winter - GO OUTSIDE. sheesh.
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