Blue Roses

I don't understand my family. And for once, I don't mind my immediate family. I mean the extended one.

Where to start? Let's start with my grandmother. Grammy is hurting. I know she is. I understand that. But she's lashing out at my mother, and I do not stand for that. I am a mama's girl through and through, and proud of it. I guess it's been pretty constant, although mom only tells me highlights. Such as my cousin's engagement party when mom told her how beautiful she looked, and asked how she was doing. Grammy's response? "Well, 95% of the time, I wish I was dead." Lovely thing to say. After the party, she called mom and yelled at her for being "too effusive." How dare people be happy at an engagement celebration? This was also after Rachel asked her mom, Grammy, and Grammy's mom to take a picture with her that night. Grammy got arranged in the pic, but right before we began to snap, Grammy actually got up and LEFT. Rachel was so hurt.

And then we have today. Where Grammy told my mother that she couldn't have a relationship with her anymore. Per her "late husband's wishes," because my mother was not to be trusted. I was furious. I refuse to believe that Po would EVER say or think that. Or that Grammy would use him like that. Just, no. Pisses me off greatly. So of course mom was upset. Then came this bit of news.

My dad's nephew Jay is married. Linda had three kids before the marriage - the boy is 11 and the twin girls are 10. They've since had 3 more kids - a three year old, a two year old, and an infant. They're poor. That's fine. We see them every Christmas so the kids can get presents. Okay. We like kids, we like buying presents for kids.

They're all coming in next Sunday, for dinner. Okay. Little time crunch with me coming home that day, but okay. The kids are fun, you know? Then mom invited them to stay Sunday-Dec. 24. Okay. Verging into less happy, since I only have two weeks of break, and only a few days with my family before Christmas, but okay.

Mom was talking to Linda today, about gift ideas. She and Jay told the kids that Santa Claus wasn't coming this year. The older kids, only. Because they're the ones old enough to expect gifts. She told them that Santa Claus wasn't coming for them because they had been too naughty.

Ten and eleven years old. Being told by their parents that they were too naughty for Santa to come. I want to fucking smack them around, the bastards. You don't TELL kids that. Tell them Santa is leaving presents for them with their grandpa's family. Tell them that Santa doesn't have enough money to give everyone presents this year. You don't tell them they've been too bad!

I told mom that there was no way we were going to give Jay and Linda any gifts this year. Toys for the kids, the older ones especially, absolutely. But Jay and Linda are old enough to expect presents, and they should know that they've been too naughty this year to get even one fucking thing. If Grammy's behavior pissed me off, this made me fucking irate.

Obviously, this too upset my mother. We - mom, daddy and I - love children. And behavior like that is inexcusable, in my eyes. So, yeah, mom had a really crappy day. She was greatly upset.

But nothing is ever all bad. The good things that happened? Daddy bought her a charm bracelet with snowmen, and she watched JC's new video. She loves her some Blowin' Me Up, man.