Two more to go

Yesterday I went for my 10th visit for the Clinical Eye Study.  This means I only have two left: one the first week of August and the last one will be mid-September.

That's still a lot of time that needs to pass before i get the check that will go directly to Home Depot to pay off the appliances we had to buy last November.  The kids will be back in class for their last year of Elementary School.  

The funny thing about participating in this is that it was almost doomed from the start.  At the beginning, almost every visit conflicted with something else.  The last few have been relatively drama free, however.

But...two weeks ago we went to Michigan for a graduation party.  I forgot my eye drops!  Luckily, Sister-In-Law wasn't leaving until the next day, and she phoned us to ask if we had forgotten anything.  So I only missed a couple of nights, but didn't record it as such on the log.  

My SIL, however, had some mega drama on the drive down.  They rented a minivan and were going to do the entire drive in one day.  But when they were around Nashville, the check engine light came on.  Turns out, the car hadn't had its oil changed in a long, long time.  They were going to try and swap out rentals, but instead had to just get an oil change and get reimbursed.  This delayed their arrival but many hours.

I'm torn because, as much as I dislike my BIL, it isn't fair that his wife and two young children had to endure that.  Speaking of Confederate Jethro, we got into it on Saturday of that trip when we were having lunch at Rainfall Cafe.  He just cannot got more than 5 minutes without saying something that would get you in front of HR in Corporate America.   His latest issue is men using the women's bathroom probably because Fox News told him this is happening.   

I told him to STFU at lunch but he refused.  When we got to SIL Adama's home, I told Nightingale's parents how pissed I am and that if they don't want me to go nuclear, it might be a good idea to back me up.  I had meant only after confederate Jethro said anything stupid but MIL preemptively got on his case when they arrived, so of course he was pissy the rest of the trip.  

It's officially summer and the entire United States is experiencing a heat wave.  It's actually hotter in Chicago than it is down here, by a few degrees.  This is the time of year I cannot really stand to be outside too long.  The kids are bored out of their minds.  

I have a few appointments to keep but once those are over, I hope to be able to get them out of the house more.  

This Trip was a Little Different

We just returned from a 10-day trip to Michigan for a high school graduation party, with a stop in Chicago on the way back.  As per our brand, we did it at the Highest Difficulty Setting.  

We were in Louisville on Thursday, and we got to see some friends who live there.  But then, as soon as they left, Nightingale left me in the pool to go talk to her parents.  The parents who 1) live in the same town we do and 2) were going to see every day for the next 4 days.  I was pissed because she didn't even give me a chance to get my iPad or swim wear.  She just went to her parents' room like her umbilical cord was tugged.

On Friday, after a 6-hour drive, we had to get some food and go to SIL's house, an hour away, even though we were going to (check notes) see her every day for the next 4 days.  To be fair, we just didn't think it through: we should have had her come to us, and the food would be warm, and we had access to a hotel pool.

SIL and Confederate Jethro opted to drive all the way to Dearborn on Friday, and this worked out for us because I had forgotten my eye drops.  It didn't work out for them because the car they rented had issues.  The check engine light came on because the oil hadn't been changed on time.  They had to scramble to fix the problem and didn't get to Dearborn until much later than expected, only to find their room had a lot of dead bugs in it.  I feel bad for the kids who had to spend 13 hours in a car.  I don't feel bad for my BIL.  

On Saturday, we decided to go to Legoland, and it was mostly okay.  But during lunch Confederate Jethro just couldn't stop from saying shit that would get you called into Human Resources in Corporate America.  I couldn't take it any longer and told him to stop, but he wouldn't. I mentioned this to his wife, and all she said was "I didn't hear what he said". Right, because he never says this stuff in the car or at home or at his Klan rally.

So when we got back to the ranch, I exploded on my in-laws.  MIL decided to take matters into her own hands and gave him a talking to when he got there, which made him sulky for the rest of the trip.  It didn't stop him from still saying shit but he did avoid me.  On the last day, his wife made him take a gummy so he was more chill.

Then there was the Chicago Leg.  We cannot stay at my mom's crapshack, so we need a hotel.  NG used points, so it was technically free, but really, we are using points for something instead of for something fun.  We have to pick my mom up, and she will stay with us the entire trip.  Her hearing is mostly gone, so I have to raise my soft voice for her to hear, which makes it sound like I'm shouting.  

I didn't get to see anyone this trip.  But at least I got the car washed and went to a spa for a facial.  Down here, men don't get facials.  They get face massages, which are very lame.  But I had to do something about all these white and black heads, so I indulged.  I also got our knives sharpened because everyone down here sharpens their own knives.  

The thing is, whenever we talk about going to Chicago, Nightingale mentions all these things we can do.  But once we get here, all we do is spend time with Katness and her boys and my mom.  We only have one vehicle, so it's tough to see anyone.  We are supposedly going back for Thanksgiving week, and I could literally tell Nightingale that I have no plans except to meet So-and-So on Wednesday at noon, and when we get there, she will forget and make plans for noon on Wednesday.