Late Greetings... in These Foolish Things

Merry Day After Christmas! I’m woefully overdue for an update. I’m at my parents’ house and everyone is here: mom, dad, bro, SIL, 4 y/o niece, Martini…hooo lord. The gang’s all here!

My brother is extra surly and useless as he is sick. He truly is the absolute worst. Even the dog, who loves EVERYONE, won’t go near him! I worry and worry about how bad he’s gonna get as my parents age and have more medical issues.

Mom is doing well! After her fall, she’s actually been the most active - really picking up the pace as Dad has slowed down. Don’t get me wrong, she can still be an angry old soul a lot of the time…I mean REALLY angry and I don’t know why, but right now it’s morning and she’s up and singing and super happy. I love it. We had a nice talk last night. We are friends and I love it - angry or not.

Dad is doing okay. He still has double vision and has slowed down with fatigue. He said yesterday that he’s doing okay and does really seem to be feeling pretty well. I’m glad. I really do hope that whatever is going on with him is treatable.

My sister-in-law seems to be doing pretty okay. She’s up and singing too. Remember, she’s Chinese and has now lived in the country for…what? Three years now? She still doesn’t quite get all of the traditions and I know she’s been dealing with depression, but she’s fitting in with our funky little family much better than I’d fit in with a Chinese family, that’s for sure. I have to give her lots and lots of credit for hanging in there with my brother. He can’t be anywhere close to easy to live with. Remember, I tried to warn her that time I visited them when they lived in Qingdao? I told her she was NOT marrying into a wealthy family. I wonder if she has any regrets?

Well, I’m sure she does, but my niece is definitely not a regret. She is a cutie, that’s for sure. Spoiled as HELL. It’s now afternoon and I did a stint of babysitting for a couple of hours while the rest of the fam went to the cell phone store (I think?) or maybe it was Walmart to get my SIL an iPhone. Anyway, that girl is outrageously spoiled - she is babied by everyone and is already manipulative. I didn’t fall for any of her tricks, though and I’m excited to see her grow. I hope that she thrives and becomes a sweet girl, but I think that will be up to her (and not her parents), you know? I can’t wait to take her shopping and have her spend the night with her Auntie Ginger. It’s gonna be wild!

So, we’re about to sit down for a Boxing Day lunch and then I’ll probably start packing my bags with the gifts I received so I can get home to start organizing for the new year/decade.

Fave gift of Christmas 2019: Hat that my sister-in-law knitted. She’s quite talented! She made this gorgeous cream colored double-knit kind of stitch cap that has beautiful flecks of brown and tan with a cute little pom pom on top! I am super impressed and thankful that she took the time (she also knit my mom and dad hats too!). I am going to see if she can make a sweater for Martini!

Runner Up gift of Christmas 2019: A weighted blanket! Tried it out last night here at Mom and Dad’s. It’s like sleeping under a warm hug. It’s a 15 pounder. Have you tried these?? I love it. I need to get a comforter cover for it, though, because it’s like a comforter and it’s going to need something to protect it - plus it’s a very light mint color and doesn’t match my white-on-white-on-white bed. Easy fix.

I don’t think I got any duds this year. I did get some candy, which I’ll “accidentally” leave here when I go. I don’t need that stuff tempting me. I already have seen my weight creep up since my birthday celebration (haven’t really stopped celebrating since October….ugh). Though I feel like I want to “accidentally” dump it in the trash so my dad can’t get to it. I’m sure sugar, gluten, et al contribute to his health issues.

Gotta roll. Gotta go make a salad. I do have a lot to catch up on very soon…RAD will follow soon - I bet you didn’t see that coming, did you??

Happy Late Christmas and have a wonderful Boxing Day,
GS