Dangling From the Last Thread of Sanity

I live with my little sister, my mom, and Chris. My other sister lives a couple blocks down the street and my dad and his second wife are just down a couple more.
They are all driving me slowly insane.

Tuesday I had to wrangle my schedule at work so I could take my mom to her neurology appointment. She has Parkinson's Disease and last January she was hospitalized with mono-neuritis multiplex. That's right, in my life these are words I know, mono-neuritis multiplex... The good news? Her neuropathy has gotten better and she is cleared to walk again! (My brain went "hurray! no more dragging a wheelchair out of the trunk of a car!") The bad news? She is like a two year-old. She whines, she gets mad and stomps, she pouts and freezes up. That's right, why have children when you have parents. I have threatened to move her out into the shed in our backyard...somehow she treats it like an empty threat.

Wednesday Chris had a thyroid biopsy. Biopsy is NEVER a good word. Today, he had surgery to remove a tumor from his finger. All is well, tumor removed, he will be able to mow the lawn in no time.

Also Tuesday, my sister Katie (who is like driftwood, floating through life with no plan, no destination) was served with a warrant. Note to all, do not bounce checks to Wal-Mart. It turns out that Wal-Mart can add so many fees to two bounced checks that although originally written for around $275 they are now worth about $1500 when all is said and done. Do not mess with Wal-Mart. Luckily for my idiot sister, the entire family was able to drain their bank accounts and come up with the money so she did not have to go to jail this morning. Now I'm so poor I'm going to have to live like I'm in college again, hello spaghetti-o's and ramen noodles, goodbye 100% whole wheat bread and organic vegetables.

Ah, and don't let me forget the youngest sister. She apparently was under the impression that there are fairies who come and take care of her financial aid applications. Surprisingly, the fairies missed hers and it was, therefore, never filed. That's right, she was there in line, registering for classes, and was informed that she owed the entire amount of tuition (although they only wanted 25% right then). No fairies, but she does have her older sister (me) who fixed the application, sent it through to all the appropriate people. I can't imagine what happened to the fairies...but if they are in the same union as the house-cleaning fairies then I think they've all been on strike for quite a while.

So, I haven't been blogging.

Here's my list of things I'm grateful for today:

1. Health. It doesn't seem like such a valuable commodity until you or someone you love loses it.
2. Like. I knew I LOVED Chris, but it's nice to be reminded how much I actually like him. It's terrible and cliche and sappy, but he's my best friend and I really do like him a lot....even when he's driving me crazy.
3. Solitude. Sure, in order to get this I have to get in my car and drive down the street to the park, but sitting there all alone listening to music is like a vacation sometimes. The local cops probably think that I look suspicious, but if I had drugs does anyone really think I'd be selling them?
4. Fall. I know it's out there. I know that cooler weather, shorter days, pumpkins, haystacks, and little kids in costumes are just right around the corner...it's that thought that keeps me going right now.