My family... *groan*
Sometimes, I just need to vent.
My grandparents are quite old and not really taking care of themselves. My grandmother is also obnoxious beyond all words. Unfortunately, I live in the same city as they do, so every time my parents visit, we have to visit them, too. And visiting them usually means sharing a meal with them. Which results in my feeling ill and/or actually throwing up. And that's only the worst of the many problems with visiting them.
My grandmother, who has never grasped that conversations aren't monologues, is going deaf. Oh, hell, let's be honest. It passed going some time ago. Even playing cards is a challenge, now, because she can't hear a damn thing unless everyone at the table yells it at her in unison. Mind you, this doesn't keep her from interfering with other people having conversations by randomly saying things loudly or asking questions she can't hear the answer to. And she doesn't want to get a hearing aid because they cost money. (Money is decidedly not a problem for them.) I'm tempted to bring a chalk board to write on next time we visit. -_-
They are both very weak because they are old and get no exercise. This means that they can barely lift the cooking pots and pans that my grandmother uses to make her disgusting meals. One of these days, she is going to drop one of those cast iron pans on her own foot. Or spill boiling water all over herself or my grandfather. And I'm not sure what would happen to her if she did injure herself cooking. Her cooking is also getting more and more bizarre. I don't know whether I get sick because she uses large amounts of margerine and fat in her cooking (and I don't - the contrast wouldn't make my digestive system happy) or because of actual food poisoning. Given that she has salad dressings that expired several years ago, either seems possible.
I'm bringing my own food from now on. -_- I just wish my parents would do the same.
They also have this coin collection that one of my great uncles left to them. (Because his children, who he'd disowned, didn't show up and take care of him when he was dying. I can't imagine why they didn't show up. After being disowned and all. God, my grandmother's family really does try to be evil whenever possible.) My grandmother keeps randomly giving coins to people at church and telling people that they have this coin collection. They want my parents and I to catalogue it so they get a good deal when they sell it. Frankly, I think they should just sell it. Period. Before one of the people they've told tells the wrong person and someone breaks in to steal it.
My grandparents also keep tabs on me (as do some of my other in-town relatives), which drives me up the wall. Normal people do not drive out of their way to see if their relatives are at home (or rather if their relatives car is in their apartment's parking lot). They also expect me to call them every time there's bad weather...which I could understand if my idea of bad weather and their idea of bad weather were the same. Given that we don't have the same ideas, it's just another way they drive me up the wall. (It also feels like another way of keeping tabs on me. I'm an adult. Very much an adult. I have been for years. Grrr.)
I'm just glad I have a good relationship with my parents, who are, amazingly, not crazy. It's amazing what being honest and actually talking about problems can do. A pity I can't be honest with my grandparents without causing massive problems. *sigh*
My grandparents are quite old and not really taking care of themselves. My grandmother is also obnoxious beyond all words. Unfortunately, I live in the same city as they do, so every time my parents visit, we have to visit them, too. And visiting them usually means sharing a meal with them. Which results in my feeling ill and/or actually throwing up. And that's only the worst of the many problems with visiting them.
My grandmother, who has never grasped that conversations aren't monologues, is going deaf. Oh, hell, let's be honest. It passed going some time ago. Even playing cards is a challenge, now, because she can't hear a damn thing unless everyone at the table yells it at her in unison. Mind you, this doesn't keep her from interfering with other people having conversations by randomly saying things loudly or asking questions she can't hear the answer to. And she doesn't want to get a hearing aid because they cost money. (Money is decidedly not a problem for them.) I'm tempted to bring a chalk board to write on next time we visit. -_-
They are both very weak because they are old and get no exercise. This means that they can barely lift the cooking pots and pans that my grandmother uses to make her disgusting meals. One of these days, she is going to drop one of those cast iron pans on her own foot. Or spill boiling water all over herself or my grandfather. And I'm not sure what would happen to her if she did injure herself cooking. Her cooking is also getting more and more bizarre. I don't know whether I get sick because she uses large amounts of margerine and fat in her cooking (and I don't - the contrast wouldn't make my digestive system happy) or because of actual food poisoning. Given that she has salad dressings that expired several years ago, either seems possible.
I'm bringing my own food from now on. -_- I just wish my parents would do the same.
They also have this coin collection that one of my great uncles left to them. (Because his children, who he'd disowned, didn't show up and take care of him when he was dying. I can't imagine why they didn't show up. After being disowned and all. God, my grandmother's family really does try to be evil whenever possible.) My grandmother keeps randomly giving coins to people at church and telling people that they have this coin collection. They want my parents and I to catalogue it so they get a good deal when they sell it. Frankly, I think they should just sell it. Period. Before one of the people they've told tells the wrong person and someone breaks in to steal it.
My grandparents also keep tabs on me (as do some of my other in-town relatives), which drives me up the wall. Normal people do not drive out of their way to see if their relatives are at home (or rather if their relatives car is in their apartment's parking lot). They also expect me to call them every time there's bad weather...which I could understand if my idea of bad weather and their idea of bad weather were the same. Given that we don't have the same ideas, it's just another way they drive me up the wall. (It also feels like another way of keeping tabs on me. I'm an adult. Very much an adult. I have been for years. Grrr.)
I'm just glad I have a good relationship with my parents, who are, amazingly, not crazy. It's amazing what being honest and actually talking about problems can do. A pity I can't be honest with my grandparents without causing massive problems. *sigh*