The One With Highlights from my Lousy Week

Yeah, last week sucked. Chubbs continues to stay about the same with his health, I got sold down the river and embarrassed by my boss, my uncle died and I found a lump on Muggsy. Plus, it's that time again. Winter of an odd year. I'm starting to get depressed. I can feel it taking over my whole body. Yesterday, I didn't get out of my pajamas all day. But this provided me with a decent day. I read "Conversations with Tom Petty" in one sitting and made pretty good headway on "Dog Language" by Roger Abrantes. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's a good read. I also started the "Da Vinci Code," which I have never read. The first four chapters really hook you though. Great book.

I know everyone reading this who doesn't know me that well is wondering why I buried my uncle's death in with all that other news. Everyone who knows me knows that my uncle wasn't a very good guy and a terrible father. I used to be very close with his kids, and they were reacting with mixed reactions as well. Plus, they told him three years ago that if he didn't quit smoking, he'd die. I'm not heartless, and I know he loved all of us as much as he could, but really, the biggest effect that his death had on me was that I had to face some of my demons.

When I was maybe 12, his four boys (he also has a girl who no one in the family is very close with) were my whole world. They all range in age from 10-18 years older than me, but I looked up to all of them so much. They were my family. As I grew and developed into the person I am now, it became very clear that we didn't see eye-to-eye. They have very narrow beliefs of the world, and I can't stand the idea of writing someone off in such a terrible way because of someone's race or gender. (Quick story break, like Texas Tech fans storming the court during Saturday's win over Kansas and surrounding Russell Robinson and other players, flipping them off and yelling racial slurs at them. I cannot BELIEVE that still happens today. So glad I don't live in Texas anymore...) I eventually quit hanging around and didn't keep in touch. There's a lot more to that story, but I could never stand to write it all down.

So I called them all to tell them I was sorry about their dad and offered to come visit them this summer. It was hard to do, but I'm glad I did it. Their reactions to me varied a little, but they were all incredibly sweet and loving as a family should be. I think we're finally getting to that age where we can accept each other's differences and just really love each other for what we all bring to the table. I hope we can continue to have something of a relationship. You only have one family, and while it can sometimes be hard, it's important to be there for each other...