Campfire

[Queen]

I only have one brother and we managed to be cordial to each other for moms sake, but after she passed we just did what was natural and mostly stopped talking.

The one thing that worked in my favor was his greed. I didn't care if I saw a dime from moms estate but he did, so I told him "if you want the money, you deal with her stuff and the house, I'll take my half when you're done (per her will)... I gave everything I had while she was alive, I am done now".

[havingfunnow]

Tina, I'm so glad you told us about your brother. It really makes me happy to hear about the good ones!

To further balance the picture, let me add that I have three real brothers in the family I've been building for 40 years -- and they are the best people you could imagine. I was entirely unfortunate in my birth family, but extraordinarily fortunate in my real family.

[Liz]

I feel very fortunate that my family has always been close. My siblings and I are not that close in age...I'm the youngest, my brother is 4 years older, my other brother (deceased) was 7 years older than me, and my sister is 12 years older. But we have always been friends and though we don't see each other often, we are always happy when we do. My parents had a will that divided assets equally among us, and there were no arguments when it came to dividing the "stuff." Perhaps we are the exception, but I feel blessed after reading these sad accounts.

[gingerK]

I'm lucky in that I have my DH's family. That's where we spend our holidays and they come here for our get togethers. And I have a some wonderful friends who are more like a Mother and a Sister to me than friends.

[chalet05]

Well, this topic is right up my alley today, but not about my brother

This morning I got a text from my daughter (while parked in her yard) that I was going to need to find a campsite because they needed the space for the Brewfest this weekend. Now I knew I was going to have to move, but I had planned on it still being on their property without electricity. No problem, it is cooler so I moved to my aunt and uncle's where I cannot use the electric (old farm).

So, my aunt told my cousin's wife goodness knows what. The wife now IMMEDIATELY contacts my daughter (I assume a text) and tells her I am here and that daughter sent me a 'rude text' this morning! Now daughter is pissed! Now even if I had said that, why would cousin's wife repeat that to my daughter? Believe me, I asked that in a text and got no response.

Thinking about it, I now realize that it was this 'wife' that told my daughter falsehoods a few years ago that ticked my daughter off! (I had blamed my aunt whom I had written to) Am I ready to strangle her, yes!!

Right now, I'm not sure where I stand with daughter. She is getting ready for this big gathering this weekend so not wanting to get into it. Cousin's wife can go to he**

[Queen]

Anita, I really don't understand people who live to create drama. It is so unnecessary and it's just as easy to spread joy.

[gingerK]

They create drama because they have nothing else in their lives. So they mess in other peoples. Eventually it all comes back to haunt them.

Anita, does your daughter know you aren't angry with her over having to move to the farm? She's probably just stressed out trying to get everything in order for the Fest. Remind her that this cousin is also the one who lied to her before.

[chalet05]

I sent my daughter a text this morning (that's how we communicate) and told her I needed to know where we stand. She said we are okay. Whew. We have had such a good time this summer - the first I have been invited to stay there - and I was so afraid we were back to square one.

Yes, Kathy, she is very busy anyway and with Brewfest it's worse. With the deadline and way too much to do, she gets really uptight so I was prepared. I was always the same way, but I didn't have nearly all the things to take care of she does. Before I leave here (after Brewfest), I plan to tell her that I figured out it was Janice in the past.

Thanks for letting me vent!!

[Azusateach]

Anita, I really don't understand people who live to create drama. It is so unnecessary and it's just as easy to spread joy.

Just to add a little perspective on this, there's actually a mental illness called "borderline personality" that is essentially what you're talking about here. People with this disorder can walk into a room, wreak havoc in seconds, turn around and walk out happy as a lark, and leave emotional devastation in their wake. And then those people around the borderline person live their lives walking on eggshells, wondering what will set them off again. There's a book called Stop Walking on Eggshells that is a good read about how to cope with people like this.

My good friend's 14 year-old son is on the borderline spectrum. Makes for interesting times.

Laura

[Queen]

Laura, I was a mental health clinician for 15 years before I went to work in libraries. Borderline is a very frustrating disorder to work with, the treatment modalities are sparse but one called DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) seems to work for those willing to work it. It's also very rare to see it diagnosed in males, so a 14 year old boy is surprising, not unheard of, just unusual.

[monik7]

Just to add a little perspective on this, there's actually a mental illness called "borderline personality" that is essentially what you're talking about here. People with this disorder can walk into a room, wreak havoc in seconds, turn around and walk out happy as a lark, and leave emotional devastation in their wake. And then those people around the borderline person live their lives walking on eggshells, wondering what will set them off again.
Laura

This sounds so much like how my daughter treats me. I don't think she treats anyone else this way though, so don't know if it would apply to her. Other than treating me badly, she seems perfectly fine as an attorney, mother, friend, etc. It's just being my daughter where the problem lies. I try my best not to "set her off" (I guess that's the "walking on eggshells" part), but inevitably she continues to attack me for reasons I cannot figure out. Sigh!!!
Sandi

[Bethers]

I arrived at my winter home today. I was due tomorrow, but just decided to drive over today. I wanted to follow Diana's suggestion and do the June Lake loop first BUT after getting up early this morning to see the sunrise (then missing what I was told to watch for, duh! - but it was pretty anyway) I was tired and wanted to get settled. This gives me tomorrow to relax and then I start working Friday. Met two of the ladies I'll work with (there's one more) and they seem very nice. No phone signal here, and the internet is ok, not fantastic, but much better than some others. They warned me the cable sux, and it does, but I get a few channels. Sometimes when working like this I just like the background noise. I hope I have the channel that carries The Voice. I do like that show.

Can you believe that I haven't had my propane filled since late April and all I was able to get today was 4 gallons? The price here was really high, but I knew I had about 1/2 a tank - just prefer coming in full - so instead of driving into town to get the lower price, filled here. Glad when I saw how little it really took that I made that decision!

[JudyJB]

I am "camping" in the parking lot of the Fleetwood Service Center in Decatur, IN. Basically, it is a gravel parking lot with electric posts. All of the motorhomes except mine, as best as I can see, are big Class As. Some are occupied and some seem just plugged in with no one there, so I assume the owners have gone elsewhere while their vehicles are waiting to be worked on. I have some work scheduled tomorrow. The one thing I am dreading is that I have to have my slides closed and be ready to go, AND checking in at the office by 6:00 am tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I need to take my shower and get into bed early. Student papers will have to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, they will let me sit in my vehicle while they work, as they have done in the past. (They give you safety goggles and ask you to wear closed-toe shoes, but then let you wander around the garage.)

And many of you know I am not a morning person, but I will survive. I have a long list of little and a couple of medium-sized things, so it will be interesting to see how long it all takes and what it costs.

This morning, before I left Michigan, I drove into Detroit and visited one of the jewels of the city, Belle Isle. Check out the two blogs I posted about this park that is now a state park and is undergoing renovation and improvements. It would really be neat if they built a campground on the island, as has been proposed!

[BirdbyBird]

I have been working on my to do list here at the house. The rig is scheduled for some repair work. The puppy has a name, Josef. Doctor and dentist appointments are made and broken tooth being attended to. Signed up to work a project beginning November 4th for a couple weeks. Yea, $$$$ coming in! Audrey has some more weekend dog shows here in Ohio and Josef has a puppy match or two on his social calendar. Slowly getting around to working on some other projects. I will need to decide in a couple of weeks whether to drive back to pick up my finished Hornbeck or whether I will be going to FL later and have it shipped there. Such tough decisions.

Several of the dogs are heading off to "dog camp" this morning for a couple of days while the deck gets pressure washed and sealed. No, I am not as talented or industrious as many of you. I have folks coming in to do the work and since appointments and a puppy match prevent me from just heading off in the rig while the work is being completed, Blondie, Stuart and Remi are going to camp. Audrey and Josef will be walked around. Two I can handle. At a campground there is no problem because it is what they are used to, here at the house, they just don't understand why they can't get easy access to the yard when ever they want.

That is the short condensed version.....now if I had brought the wine over to the campfire with me, I might have shared the longer stories....

[gingerK]

Ok, so because I was going out of town and my assistant was busy handling my own animals and my friend's pup, I referred another sitter to cover one of my clients who called last minute. The other sitter knew she was referred by me (client told her so up front) and she did the job. Now don't you think she should at least text me a quick "thanks for the job"? Or am I way off base? Apparently my peers think so. They actually suggested I should thank the other sitter for covering for me. Well, if someone refers me I thank them, even if I don't get the job. Ok, vent over, thanks!