Holding Pattern

My sister calls and leaves voicemail, just about 10:00, warning us that my mother and grandmother will be in Middleboro for a 10:00 appointment and that she had encouraged them to drop in on us while they were in the area, so we were likely to see them.  The idea being so we could bring Henry outside to see my grandmother, since my sister is convinced she’s going to die any minute (that almost never happens to people at 92) and should see the baby a few more times.  He does adore her above most other people.

You do not encourage people to drop in, knowing we detest anyone ever doing that, even if you happen to be someone whose lapses we particularly tolerate.  Whatever the reason.

This was a point in time when I’d about done my morning look at stuff and was on the edge of “the zone” where working on certain things becomes efficient.  I was torn over the need to grab a shower and my desire to leave on errands, versus all the other things that the zone makes easier.  Suddenly we’re all flustered because our day is going to get disrupted, as if we’re just on vacation, hanging out, nothing better to do, instead of it being equivalent to barging into someone’s workplace.

Even if my grandmother can’t come up the stairs, my mother will come in, so we have to scramble to make sure the place doesn’t look quite as much like Destructo and her sister Destructoer live here, giving my mother less to talk about in terms of telling everyone she encounters about our housekeeping or anything that seemed wrong to her here.  My brother paid that price for having her babysit, which we wish we could do, but I’m not even sure paying her would prevent every detail of our lives that she can, and will make a point of trying to, discern being broadcast.

In any event, now we’re in a holding pattern, on pins and needles, waiting for the knock on the door for which we must drop everything.

Update:

No sign of them, so unless they encountered a really slow day at whatever doctor it is, and/or went out to lunch and took their time, it’s becoming probable we’re safe.

I’ve been backing up the contents of each of our hosting accounts, clearing temp files and such, and getting a handle what’s available on each.  The one I keep complaining is down regularly has not yet been upgraded to more space, bandwidth, and so forth, so my guess is that’s an older server and it will be sometime, at which point the specs will change.  This blog’s hosting was using 402 MB and I got it down to 244, out of 700.  Turns out it’s the one to use for new stuff, now.  Final check of the control panels and I should be done and on to something else…

Ooh, like lunch, before I get all shaky from forgetting to eat yet today.

1. ”...giving my mother less to talk about in terms of telling everyone she encounters about our housekeeping or anything that seemed wrong to her here.”

   I’m sorry… WHAT??!!!! 
   HYPOCRITE!!!!

   I spent time EVERY WEEK visiting our grandparents at your mom’s house (the house you grew up in, as well as it being the house that both our parents grew up in). That house became an absolute shit-hole! Wasn’t it eventually condemned or something??!!  She has NO right to criticize anyone!!

   And what the hell is up with your sister? She took it upon herself to invite them over without asking you guys first?

   Posted by  on  01/09  at  01:36 PM  from 

2. For what it’s worth, I told her it was a bad idea and that you’d be annoyed. You really shouldn’t worry about how the place looks, anyone who has had children knows that they create mass havoc and destruction and is not going to nitpick about your house cleaning (unless they’re a jerk, in which case you could throw them out the window, but I suspect that would make things even chillier than they already are). Besides your place on a bad day looks better than the living quarters of any of Dad’s relatives, even without small children (although no one can outdo you in number of poorly placed wires that may or may not be there for geeky effect rather than actually serving a purpose).

   Posted by Dan  on  01/11  at  12:32 AM  from  Here`
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