family

JusJoJan — Blood is Thicker Than Water

Fandango11 Comments

“It’s not me,” Jimmy said, “it’s your mother, Paula. She’s overly sensitive when it comes to me and she takes everything I say the wrong way. She’s turning everyone in your family against me.”

“Well, Jimmy,” Paula said, “you’ve never been known to be very diplomatic. You tend to talk before you think and blurt out things that can be very annoying and put people on the defensive.”

“So what are you saying?” Jimmy asked. “Are you saying that it is all my fault and that I’m being insensitive?”

“No, it’s not all your fault, but my mother is very sensitive and if you want to be a part of this family, you need to understand that and think before you speak.”

“Paula, do you want me to be part of this family?” Jimmy asked.

“I do, Jimmy,” Paula said, “but she’s my mom and we’ve always been very close.”

“And she doesn’t like me, right? She thinks I’m not good enough for her precious daughter.”

“Maybe she has a point, Jimmy,” Paula said. “If you can’t be more respectful to my mother, maybe you aren’t good enough for me. Family is very important to me and right now you’re standing on thin ice.”

“Sheesh, you’re beginning to sound more like your damn mother every day,” Jimmy said.

“That’s it, Jimmy,” Paula said. “The ice just broke. Buh bye, Jimmy.”

Written for today’s JusJoJan prompt, “family,” as suggested by Kim, who resides here. Also for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (sensitive).

WDP — Memorable Vacation

Fandango14 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Describe your most memorable vacation.
View all responses

Let me start out by saying that my most memorable vacation ever was not my best vacation ever.

When our kids were still living at home, we loved to visit America’s national parks as a family and we all have wonderful memories from those trips. But we had one trip that was kind of a comedy of errors…at least for me.

We drove to South Dakota from Chicago to visit The Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore National Monument, and Wind Cave National Park. The sites we visited and the sights we saw were spectacular.

Badlands National Park

That said, it was a camping trip and we stayed at various campgrounds and a number of things happened during that vacation that I wished never happened.

  • I backed our car into a tree
  • I drove for about 100 miles with the emergency brake on
  • I almost set our campsite on fire when I was frying a some trout we caught that day over a campfire
  • I tore my Achilles’ tendon playing basketball at a KOA campground one day and the next day I went horseback riding and almost fell off my horse at full gallop because I couldn’t use my right ankle in the stirrup
  • I had to go to the ER in Rapid City (and when I finally got back to Chicago, had to have surgery to repair my torn Achilles’ tendon)
  • On the drive back home, my wife had to drive because I was sick as a dog and was throwing up most of the trip

And yes, I can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was pretty horrible for me. Honesty, it was like a National Lampoon’s Vacation movie and I was Chevy Chase.

Out of Pocket Today

Fandango25 Comments

When I lived in Texas back in a prior life, there was an expression that many Texans used when they were going to be unavailable or unreachable. They’d say they’d be “out of pocket.”

Why am I telling you this? It’s because I’m going to be “out of pocket” most of the day today. It’s my wife’s birthday and we are meeting our two kids, their spouses, and our grandchildren for a birthday celebratory outing in San Francisco at the Presidio Tunnel Tops Park, a 14 acre park built on top of some recently opened traffic tunnels that lead cars from the Golden Gate Bridge to downtown. It opened last summer and we haven’t been there before, so we’re all pretty excited.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be around here — on WordPress — much today. But I hope everyone has a very pleasant Saturday and I look forward to seeing you all later.

Work-Life Balance

Fandango13 Comments

Sarah’s tone was, well, caustic. She’d had it with Ted’s focus on his job to the exclusion of his wife and children. She couldn’t let it roll off her back anymore. “Dammit, Ted,” she said, “I know this sounds like a cliché, but you need to endeavor to find a balance between work and family. You’re constantly working, even when you’re home. It’s like the kids and I don’t exist and that must stop. I know you don’t like it when I bring this up, Ted, but you’re absent and the kids and I need a husband and a father who is present. So it’s your choice. Do you want a more serene life spent with family? Or do you want to work yourself to death? If it’s the latter, let me know. I’ll take the kids and move back in with my parents. That way you can totally devote yourself to your job.”

Ted didn’t say anything. He just looked blankly at his wife.

Sarah’s eyes welled up. “Your silence speaks volumes. The kids and I will be out of the house by the time you get home from work tonight.”

Written for Greg’s Five Word Weekly Challenge, where the words are:

Share Your World — 11/7/2022

Fandango15 Comments
Share Your World

Before I get started with my response to today’s Share Your World prompt, I just want to say a few words about Melanie, who has been hosting this weekly prompt for at least the past few years. Melanie passed away over the weekend. I have been following Melanie’s blog for a long time and it’s hard to believe she has actually left us. Melanie was quite a character. She was quirky, brutally honest, funny, sad, and lovable. She will be missed.

Di, at Pensitivity101, who has been standing in for Melanie for the past month or so, has graciously agreed to continue to host this weekly prompt in Melanie’s memory.

1. Do you consider friends an extension of your family?

If I think about my immediate family, no. My wife, son, daughter, and grandchildren come first above all friendships. If I think of my extended family, though, there are some that I rarely speak with and some that I really don’t care for. So in that case, I have close friends that I consider to be more family than some actual members of my extended family.

2. Would you confide in a friend more than you would a family member?

My best friend is my wife, and there is no one I would confide in more than her.

3. How long have you known your best friend?

In the case of my wife, who as I mentioned, is my best friend, we met in 1976, so 46 years. I have several other close male friends that I’ve known since before I met my wife, but I don’t live near any of them anymore, so my interactions with them are a lot less frequent.

4. Do you believe distance has a negative effect on friendships?

Yes, I think distance does have a negative effect because there are barriers to getting together and sharing experiences with people who live far away. Telephone calls, letters, emails, cards, and text messages just aren’t the same as physical proximity.

That said, I am grateful for the friendships I have made with people from all around the globe via blogging. I probably feel more of a closeness with many of you who are reading this than I do with some real world friends who I see, talk with, or exchange written communications with much less frequently than I do with many of you.