mental health day
I took today off from work in an effort to get my brain to stop slipping gears. The weekend was going to be crazy by design, and I knew I'd need a little more time to get my act together as a result. Saturday was my coworker Heather's wedding; it was in Fulda, MN, which is a small town very close to the Iowa/South Dakota borders. Sunday I was helping co-host a wedding shower for my step-cousin Crissi, who is getting married in a month.
Because of the event on Sunday, I had to drive down and back to the wedding on Saturday. That meant 7+ hours in the car on Saturday. Vickie, Megan and Jeremy carpooled with me, which was a damn good thing else I would have fallen asleep at the wheel, I think. There was much yapping in the car.
The wedding was short and poignant; the reception low-key and fun; the drive back exhausting. I crawled into bed at half-past midnight.
Sunday I got up and hauled butt over to my mom's to help her prep for the shower. She had gotten railroaded into holding it by my grandmother, and I felt bad about it. There's a lot of acrimony on that side of the family, and while we try to steer clear of it we occasionally land in the soup, so to speak. We did a lot of cooking.
The shower was nice, we did a lot of gabbing and eating; no party games, thank God. The kids ran around like mad people and got into everything, but still managed to be cute about it.
It was, however, way the hell too long. I was over early to help; it started at 12:30; I left at 4 pm, and my mom was still politely trying to push people out the door when I left. The problem with throwing a good party is that getting people to leave is hard.
On my way home, I called Ethan and found out that they'd given Grandma Marie last rites. She's been in the nursing home for just over a year now, and has been slowly fading the whole time; it's happening much faster now, though. So there will be funeral festivities to attend soon.
Because of the event on Sunday, I had to drive down and back to the wedding on Saturday. That meant 7+ hours in the car on Saturday. Vickie, Megan and Jeremy carpooled with me, which was a damn good thing else I would have fallen asleep at the wheel, I think. There was much yapping in the car.
The wedding was short and poignant; the reception low-key and fun; the drive back exhausting. I crawled into bed at half-past midnight.
Sunday I got up and hauled butt over to my mom's to help her prep for the shower. She had gotten railroaded into holding it by my grandmother, and I felt bad about it. There's a lot of acrimony on that side of the family, and while we try to steer clear of it we occasionally land in the soup, so to speak. We did a lot of cooking.
The shower was nice, we did a lot of gabbing and eating; no party games, thank God. The kids ran around like mad people and got into everything, but still managed to be cute about it.
It was, however, way the hell too long. I was over early to help; it started at 12:30; I left at 4 pm, and my mom was still politely trying to push people out the door when I left. The problem with throwing a good party is that getting people to leave is hard.
On my way home, I called Ethan and found out that they'd given Grandma Marie last rites. She's been in the nursing home for just over a year now, and has been slowly fading the whole time; it's happening much faster now, though. So there will be funeral festivities to attend soon.