And it Was...Interesting
Dad and I decided last-minute to take a trip up to my grandparents' for Christmas, dog in tow. Spur-of-the-moment road trips are nothing new for us. Work was very accommodating switching around days off and such so we could have a longer weekend. That meant two days of 7 hours' driving instead of one marathon 14 hour hell (that we have done many times before). Buffeting wind the whole way up and back down, but no weather outside that to speak of.
Getting there was uneventful and my grandmother was in tears at seeing us. Even my grandfather, normally the stoic one, was visibly happy to see us there. Neither of them are doing well, health wise, and this was a pick-me-up that they really needed.
But.
I am a wee bit left of them on the political spectrum. Where "wee" is actually "well on the other side of the mountain" left of them. They know I hate tv news, and Grandpa pretty much followed my request of no cable news. Grandma did not and kept trying to back me into corners that would only sour the occasion. I dodged most of it, only skirting some dangerous territory by a well-placed silence. One roadblock: down.
Bigger roadblock: my grandparents had never been anything but respectful to each other (with the occasional outliers of course) in years past. Boy has that changed, on both sides of the relationship. I think pain, fear, resentment, and frustration are all wearing on them and they are taking it out on each other. Not just disrespectful--spiteful. They were called on it (gently) and it seemed to work for a while. It just kept creeping in.
I think Thursday afternoon till early Sunday morning was a little more than enough for me, but much appreciated--and needed--by them. And I will enjoy being with them as long as I can, even if they drive me crazy in the process. Now it's time to get back on the healthy eating road (versus the train wreck that was last weekend) and focus on riding that instead of eating out of frustration.
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