Things are a mess right now. Heather moving back has stirred up a whole Pandora’s box. I’m not surprised, but Dennis is appalled.
On Wednesday, I called Dennis from work to check on the kids, and he didn’t answer—not a big deal. He texted me later, asking if I was at lunch. I told him I was heading to my car to relax by myself and that I’d call him when I got there. Cue the meltdown.
Apparently, my mom had called him earlier, asking if he wanted any of my dad’s tools. She said he needed to pick them up ASAP because my brother-in-law was planning to take the rest. For context, my dad was an incredible woodworker. He even gutted and rebuilt their kitchen while going through his final chemo treatments, crafting beautiful, custom cabinets. He owned some high-end tools that Dennis has repeatedly told my mom he’d like to have.
Fast forward five years, and those tools have just been sitting there. Suddenly, they need to be cleared out within 48 hours to make room for Heather’s stuff. Dennis was furious—not just at the short notice but also because he wasn’t the first person my mom called. None of this surprised me, though. That’s just how my mom is—very self-centered.
Dennis tried to tell her she needed to protect herself, as he’s convinced Heather will take advantage of her and never leave. Her response? She just wants someone there in case she falls or something. Again, it’s about what she wants. I’d already warned Dennis that my mom shuts down when she doesn’t want to hear something. Still, his main concern is the house. He’s worried that if something happens to my mom, Heather will try to take it.
My mom has told us there’s a notarized quitclaim deed dividing the house equally among the three of us in her desk drawer in the spare bedroom. I’ve even told my sisters and my mom that if no one else wants the house, I’ll buy it and rent out my current place. But Dennis thinks Heather will find the deed and destroy it, forge a new one, or manipulate my mom into signing the house over.
By Friday, Dennis was still fixated on it. I told him this really isn’t his issue, but I didn’t mind listening—up to a point. He even brought home a fire safe, insisting I take it to my mom for the deed. When I mentioned it to her, she just acted annoyed.
Dennis also wanted me to organize a family meeting, so I brought it up to my older sister, Barbie. We’re meeting for dinner tomorrow to discuss it. Dennis didn’t love the idea of meeting in public—he can’t hear well in noisy places—but I reminded him it’s an immediate family matter, and he doesn’t need to be involved unless necessary.
Honestly, none of this matters because my mom will do whatever she wants. This is the same woman who once told us that if she could do it all over again, she wouldn’t have had kids. When we brought it up, she hit us with the classic “I guess I’m just a terrible mother” guilt trip.
On Friday, I told Dennis to vent all he wanted while I drove home from work because I wasn’t going to let this drama ruin my weekend. To his credit, he respected that boundary.
On Thursday, I took sick leave because Dennis had an appointment for a back ablation. I didn’t want to drive to the office for just half a day, then come home and drive back to that part of town again. Instead, I ran a few errands in the morning and then took him in. This wasn’t his first ablation—it’s usually a pretty straightforward, in-and-out procedure. They give you a pager, and I wait in my car until they’re done, which typically takes about an hour.
When the pager went off, I drove to the pickup area, but Dennis texted me saying something didn’t feel right. I parked the car and went inside to check on him. By the time I got there, they’d already brought him outside. I explained to the techs what Dennis had said and let them know I wasn’t leaving until he felt better. They were very understanding and took us back in.
Dennis was struggling to move around, and the doctor came over to explain that Dennis had been so tense (big surprise there) that they’d had to give him extra sedatives to avoid breaking the needle. Everything went fine, but the tension likely made the procedure a lot more painful than usual. We stayed there for another 30 minutes, and they gave him a sugary snack, which helped him regain some color. He didn’t remember much after texting me.
When we finally got home, I put him to bed. I’d planned to take him out to eat afterward, but that obviously didn’t happen. Since I hadn’t eaten yet either, I went out and got a chicken Florentine pizza, and let me tell you, I was so hungry I ate it in the car on the way home. It was so good.
On Friday, I went into the office with the intention of sneaking out at noon to work from home in the afternoon. But AP was there, which threw a wrench into my plans. She’s rarely in on Fridays, so I suspect she was checking up on me since I’m usually the only one there that day. I hate being alone with her.
I had a Botox appointment at 11:30, so I told her I’d be leaving for that, and she didn’t say much. At the appointment, the nurse practitioner told me about a new laser treatment they’re offering. It sounded tempting, but after my last experience with one, I’m not sure I want to go through the pain and swelling again. They’re doing a Black Friday special, so I told her I’d think about it.
Saturday, I skipped going to my mom’s house. She assumed it was because of Dennis’s procedure, but really, I just needed a break from her. I went to Costco, the Dillard’s outlet, and Old Navy. Surprisingly, I didn’t spend as much at Costco as I usually do. I didn’t find what I wanted at Dillard’s but scored a few pairs of clearance workout pants at Old Navy. Not a bad outing overall.
Later, I realized I needed new shoes for jazz class, so I stopped by Ross to see if they had any Reeboks. I’ve danced in Reeboks before and really liked them. I found a pair in the kids’ section that I absolutely loved, so I grabbed them. It turned out to be a nice, relaxing day.
Sunday, I met up with HMF for lunch and to see Mrs. Doubtfire with our season tickets. Lunch was...interesting. I don't remember if I said anything but A, stole money from her wallet to buy three gummies from a girl at school. He took all three at once and ended up in the ER. He got a week of in-home suspension and 40 days of in-school suspension, but that could be reduced if he takes some drug education classes. He should be back to regular classes after Thanksgiving. He ratted on the kids that sold the gummy so there is some concern about bulling.
She told me they’ve put him in Christian counseling, which surprised me since her husband, like me, is agnostic. She thinks this whole ordeal might have been a wake-up call for A. They had a good conversation, and their relationship has been improving. She even showed him photos of his birth parents and explained how the “fog” he felt after taking the gummies was similar to how they lived their lives, which kept them from making good decisions. A’s abandonment issues clearly play a big role here, and rightly so.
At one point, she mentioned that A had backtalked her, and she told him it was Satan trying to break down their relationship. I swear, I think she could hear my eyeroll. If it works for her, fine, but I just can’t with that. Especially considering all the nonsense happening in Oklahoma schools right now. (If you haven’t heard, Google it.) Sometimes, I wish I had a kid like me—someone who would buck the system and start a Satanic Temple club. There’s a great documentary about it from before the pandemic. I should order one of their shirts to wear around here. But I digress.
As for the show, it was fine. Funny in parts, but the main characters were pretty boring. The brother and his husband stole the show, in my opinion. Next up is Les Mis. Neither of us are excited about it since we’re not fans of sung-through musicals (Hamilton is the one exception). But it’s a classic, so I’m keeping an open mind. We’ll see how it goes.
Yesterday was really rainy, so I decided to work from home. For some reason, I woke up at 3:30 AM and couldn’t fall back asleep. I stayed in bed for about an hour, but eventually, I gave up and got up. I briefly thought about going into the office since I was already awake, but AP is out this week and would have been in yesterday morning. That was enough reason for me to pass on the idea.
By the time I logged off for the day, I was so sleepy. I told Dennis I was just going to nap on the couch, but he convinced me to get comfortable and lie down in bed instead. I had a few hours before I needed to leave for dance class, so I did just that.
Well, I ended up waking up at 5:35 PM. There was no way I could make it to jazz class—it’s about a 15-minute drive under normal conditions, but with the rain and rush hour traffic, I would’ve been late. Plus, I still needed to change. I hate missing it because I had so much fun last week.
 |
| I didn’t get to wear my shoes ☹️ |
Technically, I could’ve made it to tap class at 6:45, but it’s just not as enjoyable as jazz. I’m not sure if I’ll go back to tap. I wish the class times were better spaced—jazz at 6 and tap at 6:45 doesn’t leave much flexibility. I might see about showing up to tap 15 minutes late, but I’ll need to build my stamina back up before I try something like that.
