Talked to father on the phone yesterday to wish him a happy mother's day. I also wanted to find out about plans to take grandmother out to dinner.
Summary of father-daughter communication:
*80-year-old grandmother uninterested in going to dinner to celebrate MOTHER'S DAY. More interested in hanging out with boyfriend. Father stunned that we'd been cast aside for obnoxious boyfriend. *father asked if I'd heard from H. I told him that we'd texted a few times this week (largely helpful texts initiated by H) but that he had not been back for boxes or to pack more. Father uses H's name like it's a swear word or horribly offensive term. *father asked, "What's wrong with him?" Have learned from experience that this is not an information-seeking question, so didn't provide an answer. *father said, "Why don't you get on the phone and call his MAMA? Tell her how he's been actin'? HUH?" ["MAMA" emphasized in an almost sing-song way and spoken at a greater volume. Additionally, he uses "HUH" if I haven't answered a question quickly enough (e.g., within 1 second of the end of his question).] *father asked, "You reckon he might want a divorce?" Ummm. Not sure how father has missed this little detail. *father asked, "When's it gonna rain again? Put his $h!+ outside! Tell him to COME ON!!" *father said, "You know he's been gone almost 5 months now." Father obviously still under the impression that I am either unable to read a calendar or have no concept of time.
Bonus--
Grandmother-granddaughter communication:
*called grandmother to wish her a happy mother's day. She promptly told me how busy she was. *told her that I understood we'd be having dinner for mother's day next weekend. She sighed a loooooooong sigh and said, "Yeah, I reckon." *told her that I had done some yard work this weekend. She responded, "YOU DID???" My doing yard work is nothing new, by the way. Don't know why she found this so shocking. She probably thought I gave it up after my dreadful thumb-wound incident from Easter. *grandmother told me she had to go. She was spending the night at boyfriend's house and needed to get going. Nice.
I need to begin to prepare myself now for next weekend's dinner with loving family, especially if grandmother's boyfriend and lunatic uncle choose to attend.
