Thursday, May 1, 2008

And the insanity continues....

Logged in just over 114 miles today, not including the 20-mile-or-so drive from home to work, and work to home... F-U-N... Witnessed one wreck, saw a trooper writing up a report for another (apparently, red light now means stomp it or something!), and topped it off with seeing a drunk driver being arrested. Have I mentioned that it's no fun trying to pull onto a major 4-lane highway with no red light? Have I also mentioned that I hate driving anyway, and lots of traffic and 18-wheelers surrounding me still make me nervous, after 8 years? Not to mention the fact that I worked twice as many hours today as I normally would.
So I come home from work late, stressed out from going all over the county, trying to get to all the homes/offices before they closed, dodging idiots who can't drive, etc... Got a crap load of housework to do before niece spends the night tomorrow night... Promised hubby I'd fix chicken and dumplings tonight (which took twice as long as usual, because I boiled the chicken in way too much water, so I finally gave up and we had very soupy dumplings).... While the chicken was boiling I managed to get most of the living room clean.
So I called sister-in-law to discuss the niece-spending-the-night-thing.... And got inundated with lots of extras.... They want us to get together with them and hubby's parents sometime Saturday, you know, between niece spending the night, a nephew's 2nd birthday party, and it would be nice to spend some time with hubby somewhere in there... Oh, and so-and-so from the community had her baby today.... And youngest nephew's baby dedication is on Sunday, and dinner will be after church for niece, nephew, s-and-b-in-law, b-in-law's mom, brother and s-in-law and THREE kids, cooked by hubby's mom. It will mean a lot if we come, too, they hope to see us, blah blah blah....
Okay, we go to the same church with hubby's parents and sister and family (hubby, niece, youngest nephew). So we're with them EVERY SUNDAY.... So generally on a holiday, we go to my parents' church. You know, the ones we DO NOT o to church with on a regular basis. Just a few times a year. Baby dedications are hard on me anyway. Mother's Day is hard on me anyway. So let's just combine them, AND not let me get to spend Mother's Day with, um, you know, my mom, who will probably have to work that night???? Um, excuse me? So on a day that I already just want to pull the covers over my head, you are asking me to spend it with two baby boys under the age of 1 year, plus 2 4-year-olds and an 8-year-old, crammed in a tiny house, where I am the only woman of child-bearing age who has given birth to ZERO children? With b-in-law's s-in-law, who kinda gets under my skin on a regular day? Do I LOOK like I want to have a nervous breakdown?
The real problem: how do I tell an overly-sensitive sister-in-law all of this (or most of it), without hurting feelings or making it seem like I'm just skipping out on an important day in my nephew's life?

2 comments:

Ellen said...

Oh, man, this sooo stinks. I guess you could just try telling her that Mother's Day is really hard on you, and you will send a wonderful baby dedication gift to her bundle of joy, but you're bowing out. But she may get huffy, but darn it, if you babysit for her all the time, she'll get over it! I'll be praying for you this Mother's Day...

Ellen said...

Oh yeah, I know a friend of a friend from Alabama who went through Angel Adoptions in Helena. They got their little girl in 9 months, no kidding, and she is beautiful. The birth mother was a teen, and she picked them because the husband looked like the baby's dad. I think they may get another from them, too. You may want to check into them. Their adoption attorney recommended Angel adoptions to them. Oh yeah, I also know a paralegal for one of the two adoption attorneys in B'ham. I'm sure she'd take good care of you, and I can give you her email address.