Heard It Through The Grapevine

After E talked to me yesterday, I think he called everyone he knew and told them he was moving back to TX.

He called his sister, S, and she told him not to come.

He called his sister, C, and she told him not to come.

Big D and CR did not return his calls.

My mother tried to talk to him and emphasize how different things would be. Also, how very bad things were before he left. He cut her off and said he didn't want to deal in the past. She got no where. She sent me a text message:

He is determined.

There was also a lot of calling between the members of the family discussing the whole situation.

As I walked out of the office, C called me. She didn't even say, "hi." She started with, "What is going on??!? Why has my brother gone crazy??!?" I wish I knew. BELIEVE me. I wish I knew...

C relayed to me all the conversations that she'd been a part of and the ones she knew about. I filled in the blanks as best I knew them. We eventually agreed that the budget discussion really freaked him out. The timing was just too coincidental.

We talked for almost the whole way home, which, since I live in the middle of no where, is a long effing way. One of her last pieces of advice, before I lost signal, was to yell at him. Her reasoning was that he thought it was ok with me for him to move back to TX. I sighed... I had explained so many times already that day that this wasn't about me. It was about what it was going to do to E. She got that, but she thought the point was lost on him.

So I walked in the door, and started putting my stuff away. E walked in the room and I hit him with, "I had a super shitty day today and it's all your fault!" His eyes were as big as silver dollars. He said, "What did I do?"

C is sometimes too smart for her own good.

We sat down at the table and I just started laying it out for him. All these people he's been putting up on a pedastal... had any of them returned his call? No. I asked him: if you needed someone to pick you up in the middle of the night, do you have any doubt that I'd be there? No. Who talked to you about college? You. Who took you on tours to see colleges? You. Did anyone else even offer to have you live with them? "Well, dad did, but I didn't return his call in time." Yeah, right. I didn't try to argue that point. I told him, "I need you to see things the way they ARE, not they way you WANT them to be."

Then he started crying. Then, "If I could get a gun, I'd kill myself right now." I opened my mouth to respond and he went running out the door. He's barefoot and it's 40 degrees outside. So I'm on the porch yelling, "Come back inside. I won't talk anymore." Pretty soon he ended up on the back porch. So I'm trying to talk through the door, "Do you want a jacket?" No. "Blanket?" NO. "Shoes?" NO!!! Then he came inside, which of course was my goal all along, and stomped down to his room, where he laid on the floor and covered his head with a blanket. So I sat on the stairs. "Are you hungry?" No! I waited a little while, still sitting on the stairs. "Well, I'm going to make me some raemen noodles. And I was thinking I could fix you some noodles too, if you'd like some. Do you want some noodles?" Ever-so-quietly I heard, "Yeeees." Ah, the magical power of noodles.

Here's what we settled on: he's going to take the bus to TX tomorrow and stay with his mom for a week. (CR finally called me back today and she insisted it not be less than a week. She said if it was too short of a visit it would be too easy for him to forget all the chaos.) He had wanted to take the car. I told him that wasn't going to happen. He was thinking he was going to sell his truck and give me the money from the truck and he would just take the car back to TX. Like a trade or something. Um, not just, "no", but HELL NO! I told him if he moved back I'd be selling the car so he better get used to using alternate forms of transportation (because the truck will not make it back to TX). He's really not wild about the bus idea, but as mom noted, he is determined.

I updated C today via text message and got a return text that said:

Nice. He will be begging to come back to you.
I think this will work.

Let's hope she's right.

Labor Day Weekend

E and I drove to TX for Labor Day weekend. (That bum didn't drive 1 inch on the way down!) It was a quick weekend for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't want to pay for an extra night's hotel. 2) I wanted a little time to rest before I had to go back to work.

I probably wouldn't have gone at all since I didn't have to go to pick up S, but I knew E was a little homesick & wanted to see his friends. Also, I felt like E & D needed to bond a bit. Of course I wanted to see the girls too. But I just didn't know what I wanted to say to S. As it turned out, I didn't say anything. I pulled that famous trick of completely ignoring the elephant in the middle of the room; no sarcastic comments or anything. (I know! I can't believe it either!)

In no particular order, here's some pics from the trip.

On Saturday, I was going to take the crew out to lunch, but since I didn't rent the van, we had to take two cars. Or, rather, my car & Big D's truck. Only, CR accidentally locked the keys in the truck. Big D won't "allow" any duplicate keys to be made, so she couldn't go with us because he had to break into his own truck. (If it were me, I'd make the key anyway.)

This worked out well for me because it was just me & the kids. Here they are, horsing around.

Click on the picture to see the big version.

C showed me her color guard routine

The little guy entertained himself at breakfast the next day while we waited on our food.

Balance... the key to life
Look what I can do!	Pacman

And finally... the pic you've been waiting for... (click the pic to see the large version)

S will not allow anyone to touch her stomach. She guards it constantly, and if you try she blocks you with a firm, "NO!" Also, she's not taking her pre-natals on a regular basis. When I got there on Saturday, she had been sleeping for 2 days. Yes, you read that right: TWO DAYS!!! On Sunday, we were all sitting on the porch and I said, "Have you taken your vitamins today?" She says, "I don't know." OMG! Are you kidding me? I tried the stern look, "Well, I *do* know because I've been with you all day... and you haven't. So go take them." I get all this whiny flak in return about them tasting bad, too big, hard to swallow ... whatever. I got in her face, "Look, you are having a baby. That means its time for you to be the grown-up and take care of you and your baby. Now get off your lazy butt and go in there and take them!"

C signed up for some mailing list where they email her the baby's development. So, she'll update S, "oh, and this week, your baby has fingernails."

I have such mixed feelings about her living there, but ultimately it is her choice. So I am trying to stay focused on E. I know we are making progress, albeit very slowly. He does manage to take up my every waking minute, so having her and the baby here would be a distraction at the very least.

In related news, E lasted almost 24 hours with his brother before he really lost patience. Granted, the little guy is a hellion. We were on the porch, because I can't go inside because there's, like, 12 cats... ok, not really, but close. The stray that kept following them in the house at the old place, and that they eventually started feeding, had a litter. They kept all the kittens! Now, the stray, henceforth known as "slut" is pregnant again.



But I digress... We were all on the porch, which, BTW, is covered in cat shit. Guess why? And there was a big puddle that probably had cat feces floating in it and D kept riding his bike, which still has the training wheels on it, through the puddle. So not just one tire sprayed the cat-poopy water, but three. He rode to the end of the porch, turned around and road through the puddle again. On the 2nd pass, I asked him to stop. On the third pass, the girls asked him to stop. Yes, if you're wondering, CR was standing there the whole time. On the forth pass, she grabbed his shoulders and said, "Stop or I'll take the bike away." He said, "No!" and merrily rode through the puddle again. She said, "D! Take the bike off the porch! I mean it!" Even I knew she didn't mean it. So did he. He made one pass around the driveway and guess where he was again.

In the mean time, E is trying to go through the boxes in the garage to find some of his stuff. They have opened every one of his boxes because they are convinced E took some of their stuff. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. He has done stuff like that in the past, so its feasible. He's frustrated... it's hot, his sense of order is upset, CR keeps trying to say stuff to him, the little guy is running around like a demon child... his mostly-calm facade was crumbling. We left shortly after I realized he wasn't going to last much longer.

The only comment CR made about E was that she noticed he was kind of "shaky" the day before and she attributed this to the new meds he's on. I keep forgetting to ask him about it, but I think he's been better on the new meds. And the shaking could have been because he was nervous about being around her... or maybe something besides his meds. (There's another appointment for that next week.) She didn't say it outloud, but her tone connoted that she didn't care for how I was managing his meds. Ptttthhhhh.

It took him a couple of hours on the road back before he really calmed down. But he did. So that's good. And he brought "his" trimmer back with him, so maybe the lawn will get mowed.

And the Drama Rolls On

C called last night to chit chat... school had started, update on color guard... basic stuff.

When the conversation rolled around to S, she said, "She's not doing very good."

Me	Really? How so?
C	Well, the other day, all she did was cry in her room all day.
Me	Oooo. You're right. Not good.
C	Then, last night, she came out of her bedroom saying mom needed to take her to the hospital because she was going to hurt herself if she didn't.
Me	Yikes.
C	I know. DS has blocked all of our numbers, but I have some things I'd like to say to him.
Me	Like what?
C	Well, for one thing, he keeps calling her. One minute he'll say he's in love with her. Then, he'll call later and say that he didn't mean it.
Me	Asshole.
C	Exactly.

I called CR to ask her about the incident.

Me	So, I hear S was suicidal.
CR	Not exactly.
Me	Really? Well, C told me she was threatening to hurt herself if you didn't take her to the hospital.
CR	Yeah.
Me	Well, that is the definition of being suicidal.
CR	Right, but there's more to it than that. Because I told her that the hospital wasn't going to take her memories away. At best they were just going to take her phone away, and if that's all she wanted I could do that. She didn't feel the need to go to the hospital after that.*

*Note: the preceding conversation may have been slightly embellished to give it a good punchline, but the gist was still the same.

E is 19 now

My apologies for the lapse in entries. I'm working on a different project at work, which gives me less time for blogging. Dangit.

First and foremost: CR FINALLY SENT THE REFILLS!!! Since his insurance is still in limbo, that saved me from having to buy another month's worth.

On a related note: we went to see his med doctor today. Trying to get him off the current stuff and on to something that doesn't make him so drowsy.

In other news...

On Thursday of last week I got a series of text messages from CR:

I know the baby's sex!
I've been sworn to keep it a secret, at least for now
Ha ha! I know & you don't! Even if she tells you, you may not know cuz she hasn't decided if she's gonna tell the truth for fun

OMG, are we 12?? My response: Whatever.

Later, I get a message from S: Its a boy

Me	Is that what you wanted?
S	Yea

Alrighty then.

Talked to C last night. She's been sick for about a week. Sinus infection, I think. She missed 4 days of her required practices of flag-whatever-they-call it last week. Anyway, she confirmed that it's a boy. Generally speaking, boys are easier, so that will be good.

---

E celebrated his 19th birthday on Saturday. I took him out to his favorite BBQ place. I had told him the week before that if he wanted to invite a couple of friends from church, that would be ok.

Wednesday night... well, first we had to deal with his roadkill. He didn't just hit a bird, he hit a duck! And it broke the friggin' grill!


Sheesh.

Anyway, he was all jazzed up because he'd gotten some girl's number. I'd asked how old she was and he didn't know. So he called her while I was fixing dinner. And I heard him ask, "I have a serious question for you: how old are you?"

After the phone call he told me that she'd completely dodged the question and wouldn't give him a straight answer. I told him that probably meant she was too young for him. I figured that meant I was going to have to call and talk to the girls mother.

But then the girl called later that night... 1am to be exact. Yeah, I know. Believe me, I wasn't happy about it. The bad news is that he found out she is only 15. I told him that was too young for him. But the good news is that I don't have to worry about it: when she called, she was apparently drunk. That was a complete turnoff for him. In that moment, she lost him at hello.

So it was just he & I. My friend from work, JL, and her daughter joined us for desert. It was very low-key. I still cannot believe he's 19.

I was bummed because the present I ordered for him was delayed and didn't arrive until today. Also, when he was at his dad's, they did nothing to celebrate his birthday. He was there the week before his birthday and they didn't get him a card, stick a candle in a twinkie, nothing. Asshole.

He's still sleeping on the air mattress, due to no fault on my part. He just doesn't want to go shopping for the mattress. That's ok. The lawn needs to be mowed again.

Moral Dilema #312929193848583

I just want everyone to know I am substituting this blog for therapy. In case you hadn't figured it out... I just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page.


This may feel very disjointed, but just try to go with it. I might be catching E's ADHD.


C called me today. I think she's only called once since she left KS, so it was good to hear from her. Sometimes when she calls she has nothing to say, she's just bored. So I hear about the wind, and the cats, and oh, an ant just crawled across the porch. But today she seemed to have an agenda.

First on the list, she hurt her leg. She had gotten up very early (before CR got home, which is at about oh-dark-thirty in the AM) to go bike riding with her friend who lives down the street. (I'm trying not to focus on the things I cannot control, so let's not zoom in on 2 teenage girls, riding around in the country, at that scary hour of the morning, and no adults within shouting distance... lalalalalalalalala) They go down a steep hill, skid, and C bangs up her leg pretty bad. Road rash for sure, plus some pretty deep cuts. C is hoping it will be healed in time for flag camp which is at the beginning of Aug.

When she gets home, she shows the leg to CR. Now, remember she and D are sharing the truck. CR says, "Why didn't you call me? I could have taken you to the hospital." But alas, with no other vehicle, there was no hospital visit in the cards as D had already left for work. CR tried to make a homemade butterfly on the severe cuts. It'll probably be fine, but what if it wasn't?

Next on the list: her neighbors have informed her that there are cobras, anacondas, water moccasins and MOUNTAIN LIONS that inhabit the area! Those, in addition to the SCORPIONS (that they've found in the house!)... and no way to get to the hospital.


Finally, she asks if I've talked to S lately. Which, no I haven't. But in my defense it is hard to get a hold of her since she doesn't have a phone, and you never know what house she's sleeping at. Oh, that was another tidbit C wanted to share. Apparently S's paternal grandmother, K, is going to buy her a new phone. Yeahyeahyeah, ok, I probably would have bought her a phone if I wasn't so tied up with E, but it would have been a crappy phone. I'm sure K will buy the best that Sprint has to offer. (Which means, of course, that I have to buy a new phone else my position at the top of the phone chain will be usurped by a teenager!? Nu-uh.)

C also told me that she told S that I was "poor" now (tho, she didn't know about the gold-plated pills, so she didn't realize exactly how poor) and that I would be really poor after buying E's bedroom furniture. S's response? "Oh well, she'll just work a bunch of overtime and then she can buy my bedroom furniture." 'Scuse me?

But C was just bubbling over to tell me that S and the baby-daddy, DS, have come up with a "plan B." If DS does not get his probation dismissed in August, meaning he won't be able to leave the state, he and S are going to go live with his mother in ... I can't remember the town, but somewhere else in TX. S is really fond of this idea because DS's mom has not mentioned that she will have to get a job.

The letter of support I'm supposed to write to his probation officer is actually the subject of my moral dilemma. Through various conversations I have put 2 and 2 together and surmised that he's doing drugs again. So, do I send the letter in or not?

If I send the letter in and they actually run a drug test (which they have yet to do, but which he most likely fail), does that have any implications on me... besides making me look clueless?

OTOH, what if I don't send the letter? There's less of a chance he'll get off probation... which means he'll continue to party with his friends, they'll move in with his mother, and S will continue to shirk her responsibility ... aaaaaand the cycle I've been trying to prevent starts all over again.

But now there's that whole blatant attitude of entitlement that S has. Maybe its too late. Maybe the cycle has already begun.

For the record, I'd never planned to buy her new bedroom furniture. I have an old set of mine in her intended bedroom and that will be fine. I did, however, commit to buying a bed since hers was given to little d, I believe.

Regardless... I'm embarrassed for her that she's acting like a spoiled brat. E doesn't have a job yet, but he is trying to pull his weight. I have no doubt that S would be sitting on the couch (eating bon-bons, if there were any in the house) all day watching TV.

I know nothing of DS's mother. Wait, I do know something. I know that in all the time he has been going out with S... having a terrible time at home with his own family drama, she has never come to town. Not once. And I'm sure I don't know all the times he was having problems with his father, but the ones I know about scream for a little support.

So that's all I really know. Granted, it's not a great impression, but does that mean it would be a bad choice? Dunno. I am very worried about not making S get a job. How do you teach responsibility without giving it? What happens after the baby comes? Will she make sure S is taking care of it? Will she just hire a nanny? Or will she let it scream in its crib for hours on end?

I don't know the answer to most of those questions, but I just talked myself into sending the letter.

A bunch of updates

Lots to catch up on today, crimestoppers.

1. S
I guess S and DS made up, at least sort of. They're at least talking anyway. I don't know if he's given her the ring back or not. I did call him and ask if he still intended to come to KS to go to college and he said, "Yeah!" But the underlying tone was "Are you crazy? Of course I'm going to KS for college!" What if he thinks he can still live with me even if he & S are broken up? Oh dear lord... like I don't have enough drama! But I've still got to write that stupid letter.

And in semi-related news, S finally had her sonagram today. She's approximately 13 weeks along. Due date is Dec. 29.

2. C
D managed to pull in his family marker and get a free flight for C ... AND HER DOG. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but CR decided that C must care for ber dog 24x7. Now, I understand a parent's need to teach a kid responsibility. But honestly, forcing the kid to take the dog on the road while she visits family? When said family is ALERGIC??? Seriously, is that REALLY necessary? Its not like there's not 8 gillion animals at that house anyway. Would it really be that difficult to fill another food bowl? So after yours truly goes and buys a pet carrier, she's up, up, and away to TX.

3. E
J eventually finished E's truck and my mother waited a day to bring to bring C back to my place. (Why it was necessary to come all the way back to my place, I'm not sure. Afterall, mom has a airport in her city... but whatever.) So E was able to follow her. But get this: about half way through the trip, ALL that work that J did to E's truck, BROKE! The engine started over heating and I don't know what else. E was very upset about it. But the thing is, I just can't stop thinking that maybe J deliberately sabotaged E's truck. Maybe he thought it would break sooner and he'd be able to keep E at his house longer...? I don't know. I could be wrong, of course. (But I don't think I am.)

So, yesterday and today I started trying to find E a school to go to. He wants to be an auto tech, like his dad, of course. So I contacted the "tech" college. Like the first community college I contacted, this is a year long program. But unlike the CC, this one costs (wait for it)... over $9,000!!! Holy F*CK! This is not an ivy league school we're talking about here. Course, getting the numbers out of them was a trick. You'd think they were protecting national secrets or something. The lady kept saying, "M'am, I cannot give you actual numbers unless your nephew is enrolled in classes." And I kept saying, "M'am, I am not enrolling him until I know how much it's going to cost." But now that I know the number, I see why they wanted to keep it a secret. I have surgery scheduled for tomorrow to put my eyeballs back in their sockets.

You can call me, "Tree"

When C was younger, she went through a phase where she would shout, “Potato!” in much the same manner as one might use the word, “dude!” It was her go-to word, used to express a variety of emotions. If she was baffled, “Potato!”; surprised, “Potato!”; amused, “Potato!” Being an aquarius, she mixed it up a bit. Sometimes she said it qietly, sometimes she said it emhatically, sometimes she stomped her feet as she said it, and sometimes she wrang her hands maniacally and used her most “evil” voice. I don't know why that popped into my head this evening, I was just driving home and suddenly, “Potato!”

I talked to CR today. She was furious with E. Shortly before the move started, she had bought a can of green paint to be used to paint the little guy's room at the new place. Before he left, E, helped himself to the paint and painted his door and door frame, at the old place of course. (He must have decided that the door was too much green because he helped himself to more paint, also purchased for the new place, to re-paint the door.) And then I was shocked, shocked I tell ya, to hear that he didn't put the paint back where he found it. Today the little guy got into it. He painted his body, hair, clothes, and the [borrowed] trailer all green.

Side note, speaking of the move: they were supposed to be out of the old place on June 3. But they still have stuff at the old place! You do the math. Of course all the utilities are turned off over there, so it's hotter than shit (well, it's TX, so of course it's hotter than shit).

As they were de-greening him, he informed her that there were 2 little d's: a good one and a bad one, and the good one's name was, “tree.”

Also talked to E today. He, apparently, has had enough of his paternal side of the family and is coming home this coming weekend. Potato!

Not sure of C's plans yet. She still wants to go home early. [Big] D has a cousin that works for some airline. He and CR think they'll be able to finagle a free ticket for C to fly back to TX.

Do you know who D is? Do you remember that seen in “Look Who's Talking” where John Travolta was old and fat, and serving the kids a can of beans that he dug out of the trash can? Kirstie Alley was flashing forward to what life with him might be like. That's D, to a “T”.

You may have heard me speak of the copier that used to live on the front porch. He was at a job site one day and the building he was working on was throwing it out. So he brought it home. Because that's what we'd all do, right? It stayed in their living room for a looong time until it was finally banished to the front porch. (Ultimately, it was moved to the back patio. Sad because it brought such sophistication and class as you approached the front door.)

But here's the thing: of the 5 cars in the backyard that didn't run, only 1, O-N-E, was hauled off to the junkyard. They moved 4 broken, as in NOT working, cars to the new place!

It's true. Check the pic below.

No wonder they haven't finished moving!

Potato.

In the beginning, or middle as the case may be

Long after the earth had cooled, the mountains had formed, and man began walking upright, my family drama began. Not to imply that my family is the only one with drama, but it is my blog, afterall.

I'd love to start the story from the beginning, but that doesn't really fit with the family dynamic, so we'll start mid-chapter with ... oh, say, Friday.

My niece, C, and my nephew, E, were staying with me. My niece was staying for a couple weeks during the summer as she has done ever since her mother, CR, packed the kids up and moved to TX. My nepew had decided to move in with me after graduation (after having been rejected by his father and his [maternal] grandmother).

Late Friday afternoon E's paternal grandmother, K, called me. They were scheduled to lead E back to their house (approx. 2.5 hrs away). She called, among other reasons, to find out how much stuff E was bringing back with him to store at their house. This was the first I'd heard about this. Why is he storing stuff at your house, I asked? She said he told her there was no place to store it at my house. While I don't have a mansion, I do have room -- nothing some shelves can't overcome. Then she asked what his plans for school were. "Well, " I explained, "he had originally planned to go to school and live with his dad, but J said no." I wanted to say that with a lot more adjectives, but even I know a brick wall when I see it. Besides, surely she already knew this part of the story...

"No." she replied empatically. "He did not say that E couldn't live with him. He said there would be rules. See, J told me that E has been hitting on his wife, SY, and that was going to have to stop if E was living with them. But J really wants him to live with them." First, while E is 18, he's a very, very immature 18... like, maybe 14. I doubt he'd know how to make a pass if someone gave him written instructions. That's when I knew that J had finally snowed his mom. Over the years I'd had respect for her because she always knew when J was being particularly assholistic and usually she'd knock him upside the head (or whatever). Not that it always fixed the situation, but more often than not it made it better. But now we'd finally reached the point in time where she could no longer help.

Second, E takes (and definitely needs) several psychotropic medications. J doesn't believe E needs said medications. When E was younger, CR had to have medical neglect charges filed against J because he wouldn't give E his medications. (CR won that battle, BTW.)

So after seeing E more relaxed in the past week than he's been in years, and after finallly getting used to the idea that he really was going to be living with me, I was stunned to hear that he was plotting to move in with ... [swallowing back a nasty burp] J.

To further complicate the situation, K did not want E to bring his truck. It wasn't registered because E bought the truck from CR's new husband's mother. (This is not a family tree... it's a friggin weed.) She failed to sign the back of the title. This was the second conversation I'd had with J's parents about that damn title. I truly believe it was just an oversight, but the two of them were acting like it was a dirty trick played on him. "Why would they do that to a kid?" Oh, NOW he's a kid??? A minute ago he was making a pass at his step-mom. Make up your mind.

E was furious that they did not want him to bring his truck. He wanted to be able to drive to visit whatever family member he felt like and not be trapped in someone's house.

As if all that wasn't enough for 5:00 on a Friday, I find out that C wants to cut her visit short and catch a ride with E to visit other family.

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. C had said nothing about wanting to cut her visit short to me.

I waited for K to talk to E, then I called the house. C answered the phone and I could hear him screaming in the background. I decided to cut the day short and come home.

E was gone when I got home. While he has a GPS, I don't think he keeps it in the truck. So he's in a new town, albeit a tiny, tiny town, driving around, mad as hell... just about the time I considered calling the police, he pulled back in the driveway. He was in a little better mood, but not much.

A long talk later and he confessed he was thinking about moving in with his dad, he had no idea what I was talking about re: hitting on his step-mom, he felt like there was no place for his stuff because there was no place to *put* his stuff. Well, crap, he's only been here a week -- there just hasn't been time to go furniture shopping.

I tried to talk about the pro's & cons of living with his dad, but, right or wrong, I also nudged just a little towards living with me. (Go ahead and comment... that's what they're there for.)

I was going to take the kids to see a movie & out to eat. They both decided that they just wanted to get some food and maybe rent a movie because they had to pack.

Honestly I don't think I slept at all that night. I was really looking forward to spending time alone with C. I wanted to cry but I didn't want either one of them feeling guilty. I grew up with the guilts and it sucks.

However, C definitely tuned in to my mood. Saturday morning (I was up at 8:30! I know!!! I told you I couldn't sleep!) E told me that C was wanting to go back to TX and skip seeing the other family. I was working out in the yard (what else do you do at that hour?) so I asked E to send C out to see me.

She appeared and was almost on the verge of tears. I hugged her and asked what was going on. She got the guilts even though I'd tried not to give them. Crap. I tried to explain that both of them had just thrown me for a loop and I was looking forward to spending time with her and just didn't understand what was going on.

C will be part of color guard next year. And she had some sort of CG camp starting in July. So she'd planned her vacation so that she got back the day before CG camp. Suddenly it hit her that her bedroom hadn't been unpacked since the move finished the day she left. Also she wanted to paint it before she unpacked. And if she didn't get back til CG camp there would be no time to do those things plus see her friends. Well, heck, I get all that. I just wish she would have said it out loud before.

Later, E informed me that he really wanted to live with me. After the C conversation, I asked him if he made that decision for himself and not me. He said himself... course, he's supposed to be gone for 2 weeks. Anything can happen.