Trip

We're going on a trip tomorrow--I'm so excited! I can't believe that Mary agreed. But we'll have to wait and see cause I've known her many a time to try to back out at the last minute. Since Dad's not going (trying to hurt us because he thinks we want him to go???), Angie says she will go. She said I'm a glutton for punishment. (Big sigh.) That's because she can be such a b_ _ _ h. I sincerely hope she behaves herself. She's usually better if other people are around. And Mom and Mitch, my brother, have this incredibly ability to put everyone around them (excepting my father) in a good mood. They're just fun to be around. Sometimes I wonder if Mitch is aware of this. I mean, seriously, I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy spending time with him. It's a gift, that's for sure.

I don't know what we'll do. We don't have much practice with visiting. Mom's tried to talk me out of it all week--she was protesting too much. Afraid it might actually happen. Trying to brace herself for it not happening. Dad's not going almost threw us for a loop. Luckily, Fred, another brother, is coming over to paint, so he can keep an eye on Dad. Poor Fred. To be alone with Dad is definitely not something I would have ever wished on him. That's a real sacrifice and will have to be aptly rewarded. Guess I'll be making a butterscotch pie soon. Mm. That'll be hard--giving it away without a single bite. That's my favorite pie, too. And I'm on a diet and Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up.

Well, back to the trip. There's an orchard near where Mitch lives, so we'll go there. And Mitch will be making his famous pizza and cinnamon rolls. There's always the Dominoes. Have I talked about all this before? Oh, but with can't play Dominoes with Angie there! She has no head for strategy, for one thing. And for the other, she has no attention span. I didn't believe it till I saw it myself. She'll be looking all around her, everywhere but at the game. We'll call her name. No reaction. It's awful. Mary, on the other hand, is all concentration. It's so funny to see the way her mouth goes into a tight line of grim determination. Sometimes she's still pretty out of it. Trying to lay stones down where they don't belong. But other times she'll make an excellent play. That's why Simone, my niece, is absolutely convinced that the whole thing is an act. If only! I always joke that when I play with Mom and Mary, I'm really playing for three :-)

Well, I'm sure that Mitch will come up with something. Even if it's a movie. Angie will fall asleep (at least part of the time) regardless. The important thing is that we're going. It's an undeniable gesture of caring and love. It says, "You are so important to me that I am willing to travel three hours and sleep in an unfamiliar bed just to spend time with you." That doesn't sound like much, but in my family it's a lot.

Oh, get this--I have to put drops in Mary's eye four times a day. There are two different drops and I have to wait five minutes in-between. Half way through the day, she starts making a fuss. How often am I going to do this? The last time this evening, she asked the same thing and I told her the schedule. She swore that she hadn't had any drops in her eye yet today. (Another big sigh.) Sometimes I really wonder if I'm just going to lose it eventually. Her eye seems to start hurting her in the evening. I guess it's from the strain of the day. She starts telling me she has something in her eye. She doesn't know why it's hurting. Or she'll start noticing that she can see better out of the left eye, but she doesn't know why. Sometimes I seriously want to scream. Can I take another operation???