My family did Christmas yesterday instead of waiting until Wednesday. This was because of my niece, Amy. Amy is spread thin on Christmas with so many places to stop that she can’t fit us in. Her husband’s parents are divorced, so they go to his dad’s place and his mom’s place and her mom’s place and we are left out. We wish she would arrange an every other year thing where they spend Christmas with her family (as in us) one year and his family the next year, etc., but that doesn’t happen and we don’t want to pressure her. She has so much on her plate. She has a mentally challenged sister. She has a young daughter to care for and she has to look out for her dad, too. The family was shocked yesterday to see Amy’s dad (our brother, Jim). He has aged about 15 years since we saw him last Christmas. Totally falling apart. He’s weak and isn’t taking care of himself. He was just getting over a cold. He coughed up blood at the dinner table.
Then there’s my oldest brother, John. The one we don’t like too much. The one who pigs out on all the food and treats while sitting on his fat behind, not helping in the kitchen because it’s “women’s work”. He is aging fast too. One year older than Jim, John was moved to an assisted living care facility last summer because he wasn’t taking care of himself. He had black mold in his apartment and he didn’t have the gumption to jump on the landlord to clean it up. It’s all very deeply involved, but he seemed unable to do anything for himself. John is 74 years old. He looks older than that. Jim is 73 and looks at least 80. He does not have good hygiene, his teeth are rotting – he’s just a mess. We’re wondering if he will even be living by next Christmas. We thought John was in bad shape, but Jim is far worse. Amy and her brother, Jake, are trying to get him into the same care facility where John is. That would be good because they were very close growing up.
My family did Christmas yesterday instead of waiting until Wednesday. This was because of my niece, Amy. Amy is spread thin on Christmas with so many places to stop that she can’t fit us in. Her husband’s parents are divorced, so they go to his dad’s place and his mom’s place and her mom’s place and we are left out. We wish she would arrange an every other year thing where they spend Christmas with her family (as in us) one year and his family the next year, etc., but that doesn’t happen and we don’t want to pressure her. She has so much on her plate. She has a mentally challenged sister. She has a young daughter to care for and she has to look out for her dad, too. The family was shocked yesterday to see Amy’s dad (our brother, Jim). He has aged about 15 years since we saw him last Christmas. Totally falling apart. He’s weak and isn’t taking care of himself. He was just getting over a cold. He coughed up blood at the dinner table.
Then there’s my oldest brother, John. The one we don’t like too much. The one who pigs out on all the food and treats while sitting on his fat behind, not helping in the kitchen because it’s “women’s work”. He is aging fast too. One year older than Jim, John was moved to an assisted living care facility last summer because he wasn’t taking care of himself. He had black mold in his apartment and he didn’t have the gumption to jump on the landlord to clean it up. It’s all very deeply involved, but he seemed unable to do anything for himself. John is 74 years old. He looks older than that. Jim is 73 and looks at least 80. He does not have good hygiene, his teeth are rotting – he’s just a mess. We’re wondering if he will even be living by next Christmas. We thought John was in bad shape, but Jim is far worse. Amy and her brother, Jake, are trying to get him into the same care facility where John is. That would be good because they were very close growing up.