DATELINE: St. Louis

[muckefuck]

Not much to report. The true madness has yet to begin.

I felt much better yesterday than I had been expecting, considering I was home sick all day Wednesday. I slept most of the time, which was a wise choice, though it may have something to do with why I couldn't sleep at bedtime. Or maybe that was just pre-trip stress. I love visiting; it's the travel I can't stand.

My sister met me, son in arms. I didn't feel up to shopping, so we got a little baking done and brought each other up to date on potential personality conflicts for the days ahead. Mom, in particular, seems to be hauling the most baggage to town (literally and figuratively). It came out last weekend that she thinks my sister is hosting everything only because Mom doesn't yet have a house in town and her sense of matriachy is injured. She feels she should be feeding, housing, and entertaining everyone. sigh Now I need to look for opportunities to shore up her sense of self-worth while tactfully keeping her more extravagant notions for the Christmas party she's hosting tomorrow in check, lest we all lose it. My sister introduced one of her reports yesterday by saying, "This is Mom being insane." I think that will be a common refrain today and tomorrow.

Must dash. Time to unload Mom's car and discover the bushels of half-completed projects she thought would each add a little something special to our celebrations--which I'm still looking forward to, mind you.

Comments

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

I didn't realise how big a source until I heard about the disagreement between my sister and mother last weekend. It was then that it came out that Mom really feels she's hosting, even though everyone is in my sister's house. There's no easy way to break it to Mom that we're all glad most events are at my sister's, because she's too modest and reasonable to let them get out of hand. I imagine next year, Mom will be hosting (she put down earnest money on a nearby condo) and we'll all just have to suck it up!

[bunj.livejournal.com]

Yes and no. After all, even if meals are in the condo, our sister's house is where everyone will be staying (everyone except for me, of course, next year at the in-laws). More on this tomorrow.