Thanksgiving Is Over - Christmas Is Coming

Thanksgiving was a quiet event this year - and for that I am thankful! Just me, Shawn and Andrea for a Noon feast, then Andrea headed to her family's annual Thanksgiving Day Disaster at Karen Carroll's. She came up a bit upset but then, she ALWAYS comes home from Family Time a bit upset.

Tom and Kathy are apparently fighting nonstop - I had to go mediate a family meltdown on Monday which started with Michael throwing a hissy, Kathy calling the cops on him, Michael choosing to go to juvie rather than face the wrath of his parents and ending with Tom telling Kathy to be gone from the house by the time he got back from juvie with the littlest troublemaker. She was packing, too, when they got home. Fortunately (?) Tom had calmed down and Kathy ended up not leaving. I would have left. Michael was walking around the house smug as a bug in the knowledge that he had created such havoc. He didn't even get punished for any of it. He got 'anger management' sessions. Brats - the lot of them.

Not to be outdone, Ana has announced she is pregnant and expecting in July. She plans on keeping the baby and Tom and Kathy have agreed to let her continue to live with them. Is it wrong to hope for a miscarriage?

Good news is they don't think they can afford to rent that particular house again next summer so they are planning a move in May! Hopefully they will move out of the city and the Hunt family name can again prosper around here.

If they don't move, I just might.

Gearing Up

Trying to get ready for the holidays. I've been listening to Christmas music on my longer walks with Bailey, watching Christmas Hallmark Channel movies and writing up Christmas gift lists. I am still inclined to just not do any of it this year but - I know if I skip one year, I will skip them all. And that would make me sad on my death bed. So... Andrea has said she will help decorate the house and George has said he will come by and put up the house lights. I am just going to have to make it a team effort this year.

Shawn's drinking has gotten the better of him - he drinks every day, he drinks a lot every day and he is oblivious as to how much he drinks. He is now 'sneaking' drinks by leaving his glass on the kitchen counter and sipping from there, hoping I don't notice the glass behind me. And by 'going to the bathroom' at restaurants and the casino and slamming a drink at the bar before returning. He has lost control - yesterday he had five drinks that I am aware of (and probably a drink before hitting the highway after work and enough time to slam a drink at the casino bar before I found him) which would be seven drinks - in four hours. I think that's a problem but he doesn't. I know that's a problem. And now I have a problem - how do I deal with it? Stick around for life, wait till retirement then go our separate ways or call it a day now? I don't know.

SOLD

Sold the house to George! Hooray! Put the check ($83,000) in the bank and did the Dance of Joy! I also dropped off all the tax stuff I've collected with Jennifer - she is going to get the trust all straightened out. Hopefully by March, I'll be writing checks! I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Shawn and I have been having some issues - well, one issue really; his drinking. I have told him I will no longer go out to eat with him because he gets drunk and I get embarrassed. Shushing him as he talks smack about races, cleaning up his drunken spills and turning red when he says something embarrassing is no way to spend a meal. So, I am not dining out with him until he gets some help. He is too far gone to be able to pull back on his own; unfortunately, he doesn't see that he needs help. I really have some serious thinking about my future. I'm not sure how much longer I can go on living like this - neither one of us is happy.

Started my Christmas shopping. Fun - not really.