chester bo bester
I guess this time had to come sooner or later, right?
My dog (a.k.a. the only man that will ever truly love and understand me) has been having some serious problems with his front legs, gunk in his joints that make it near impossible for him to walk. My mother and the vets are pretty positive at this point that he'll have to be put down, so I came back to Raleigh yesterday to see him. I'd like to be there when it happens, but it'll happen on Monday so at least I can come and say goodbye.
My dad hasn't seen Chester in about two years, (since I've gone to college he has no reason to come to the house in Raleigh anymore,) and I think it would be great if he could come see him one last time. He wanted to come today, but...here's what gets my blood boiling. So he's married, right? To Shannon, who has 3 kids, and a mother who lives nearby in a trailer. My dad told me yesterday that he couldn't come because Shannon's mother needs to borrow one of their cars to go to the doctor. Why can't someone just give her a ride, I asked? "I don't know," he replied, frustrated. I said that they were doing HER a favor by giving her a car and my dad never gets to do anything for himself anyway because he just gives and gives and gives to those people, and so he should get to do something important for himself for ONCE and she should just have to deal with it. Work around his schedule instead of vice-versa. He said he feels the same way but he can't do anything about it. Nobody listens to him. He's stuck.
That just makes me so angry...he's one of the most giving, selfless people I've ever met, and he just gets no appreciation for it. I know it's not my place to say anything, but I notice it whenever I spend time with that family and it just gets harder and harder for me to bite my tongue. Nobody says "please" or "thank you." They just expect. He doesn't DO anything anymore, his life is consumed by waiting hand and foot on demanding, unappreciative Southern trash who just expect him to be there at their disposal. And they're so ignorant they probably don't even realize they're doing it. "I'm getting bitchier by the day," I told him, "I'll say something to them. If they won't listen to you, maybe they'll listen to me."
Before he married Shannon, we used to talk all the time. Two, three times a week on the phone, for an hour, two, three hours at a time, just laughing and joking and talking about whatever. Now? MAYBE we'll talk once or twice a month, and our conversations are filled with long pauses and painful scrapings to find SOMEthing to talk about. He just doesn't have anything to talk about anymore. He doesn't live, he just "exists." And he deserves better than that.
The vet is closed tomorrow but one woman does come in twice a day to take care of the animals. They know we're putting him down on Monday, and I explained that my father couldn't make it today and would really like to see Chester one last time, so she said that I could come in tomorrow. I told my dad last night that I would talk to the vet, and asked if he thought he could make it on Sunday. He said he'd try, but probably not. Why not? Because there would always be something "more important." More important?!?! Like waiting hand and foot on some sad, fat, po-dunk mother-in-law because she just expects it and that's "just the way things are"?! Fuck that. I am two inches away from tactfully giving those people a piece of my mind. Nobody stands up for my dad, he's alone in this. He deserves better.
If nothing else, at least I will get to see my dog again tomorrow. I've had him for over half my life...I always hoped in the back of my mind that he'd live forever and I really could never see the end coming because he's always been so healthy and vivacious for his age (he's still just a big puppy,) but that's the way it goes.
My dog (a.k.a. the only man that will ever truly love and understand me) has been having some serious problems with his front legs, gunk in his joints that make it near impossible for him to walk. My mother and the vets are pretty positive at this point that he'll have to be put down, so I came back to Raleigh yesterday to see him. I'd like to be there when it happens, but it'll happen on Monday so at least I can come and say goodbye.
My dad hasn't seen Chester in about two years, (since I've gone to college he has no reason to come to the house in Raleigh anymore,) and I think it would be great if he could come see him one last time. He wanted to come today, but...here's what gets my blood boiling. So he's married, right? To Shannon, who has 3 kids, and a mother who lives nearby in a trailer. My dad told me yesterday that he couldn't come because Shannon's mother needs to borrow one of their cars to go to the doctor. Why can't someone just give her a ride, I asked? "I don't know," he replied, frustrated. I said that they were doing HER a favor by giving her a car and my dad never gets to do anything for himself anyway because he just gives and gives and gives to those people, and so he should get to do something important for himself for ONCE and she should just have to deal with it. Work around his schedule instead of vice-versa. He said he feels the same way but he can't do anything about it. Nobody listens to him. He's stuck.
That just makes me so angry...he's one of the most giving, selfless people I've ever met, and he just gets no appreciation for it. I know it's not my place to say anything, but I notice it whenever I spend time with that family and it just gets harder and harder for me to bite my tongue. Nobody says "please" or "thank you." They just expect. He doesn't DO anything anymore, his life is consumed by waiting hand and foot on demanding, unappreciative Southern trash who just expect him to be there at their disposal. And they're so ignorant they probably don't even realize they're doing it. "I'm getting bitchier by the day," I told him, "I'll say something to them. If they won't listen to you, maybe they'll listen to me."
Before he married Shannon, we used to talk all the time. Two, three times a week on the phone, for an hour, two, three hours at a time, just laughing and joking and talking about whatever. Now? MAYBE we'll talk once or twice a month, and our conversations are filled with long pauses and painful scrapings to find SOMEthing to talk about. He just doesn't have anything to talk about anymore. He doesn't live, he just "exists." And he deserves better than that.
The vet is closed tomorrow but one woman does come in twice a day to take care of the animals. They know we're putting him down on Monday, and I explained that my father couldn't make it today and would really like to see Chester one last time, so she said that I could come in tomorrow. I told my dad last night that I would talk to the vet, and asked if he thought he could make it on Sunday. He said he'd try, but probably not. Why not? Because there would always be something "more important." More important?!?! Like waiting hand and foot on some sad, fat, po-dunk mother-in-law because she just expects it and that's "just the way things are"?! Fuck that. I am two inches away from tactfully giving those people a piece of my mind. Nobody stands up for my dad, he's alone in this. He deserves better.
If nothing else, at least I will get to see my dog again tomorrow. I've had him for over half my life...I always hoped in the back of my mind that he'd live forever and I really could never see the end coming because he's always been so healthy and vivacious for his age (he's still just a big puppy,) but that's the way it goes.