Winter is harder for me than any other season....I miss riding and warm sun, miss hopping on the bike for even a quick hour out on local backroads to recharge my batteries and blow the stress out of my head from work, family, etc.
I'd mentioned in the Winter Rally thread that I help my mother care for my aunt- she's 76 years old, cardiac and respiratory disease, she's failing, and not doing so gracefully. When I was a kid she was my "special aunt", but over the last 15 years she has chosen to become mean-spirited, bitter and extremely difficult- entitled, selfish, needing lots of care and encouragement, but resentful when it's provided. It's actually quite sad, as it isn't safe to extend love and tenderness towards her as she approaches her final days, but at the same time her health issues need constant attention and advocacy. My mother is 80, so she's no spring chicken, although she's an amazing woman, loving, very active, involved in life, but understandably needs assistance caring for my aunt, and periodically needs my assistance with her own needs and aging issues....This "adult caregiver" business get's exhausting, especially when caring for someone (my aunt) who has chosen "misery and despair" over "generativity" according to Erikson's developmental theory.
Anyway....I just booked my daughter and I a cruise for April- boarding in Miami for 5 nights, Turks & Caicos and then the Bahamas! I called my sister, who avoids dealing with the family stuff, and told her that she would be on duty the week I'm gone. She said, "But that's school vacation..." I said, "Yup! So if if you want you can come stay at my house with the girls, with Em and I gone there will be plenty of room! I'm giving you lots of notice so you can plan
". Enough already.
I've told Em that there are only a few rules for the trip (this will be our third cruise together, it's a great way for a mother to travel with a child):
- No alcohol or drugs (doesn't need saying, fortunately at this time, but I said it anyway)
- No kissing or hooking up with boys (she gave me "the look" and rolled her eyes)
-No falling off the boat
-Once a day she needs to bring me a slushy fruity drink to my lounge chair with a different color umbrella in it.
I can't wait. Sometimes I've just got to take off the Superwoman cape and gauntlets and leave the country.
