Tuesday, January 6, 2009

To Grandmother's house we go....Part 1

So I’ve been putting off this post for about a week now because I figure that if I write something that will make Lisa want to kill me, she will remember what a hassle the 6 hour drive down is and restrain herself. Not that I would ever write anything embarrassing about my fabulous cousin! Plus, as I thought, it ended up being really long, so I’m making it into a two-parter.

It’s the day after Christmas and my mom and I are headed down to my grandparents’ house in Palm Desert/Rancho Mirage/who the fuck cares it’s old people land. Normally this drive takes 2 hours and is excruciating because my mom can’t just sit quietly and say nothing, she has to fill any end in conversation with questions about something she’s already asked me about 5 times. Usually, though, she’ll fall asleep after about an hour and then wake up and we’re there! Well, not today. Not only was I at work the night before until about 2 am, but I didn’t have any coffee because we were running late and there are not easily accessible Starbucks on the way to the freeway. Plus, there were 2 accidents to slow things down and just straight up traffic the whole way. It took us nearly four hours to get there and we had to stop to go to the bathroom and get me some caffeine. I was so tired I had my mom drive, which is never a good thing since she tailgates and rides so closely to the car next to her, the side mirrors are almost touching. It makes me nervous.

We finally get there and walk into what feels like a furnace! I don’t know why, but old people always think it’s much warmer than it actually is, making the rest of us sweat. Then in the summer, you freeze because they are hot and turn the AC down to 65. I just don’t get it.

I should probably backtrack a little and explain why we went down. My Aunt Kathy, who lives in Concord (for you SoCal people, that’s in the Bay Area) and doesn’t get down here much, was here, along with my cousins, Rodney, Lisa, and Derek. Plus, I had two days off from work, so it seemed like perfect timing. Moving on…

So we say hi to everyone and get all our stuff in, and about that time, Lisa and Derek come back with sandwiches. Now, Lisa is pregnant for the first time and really not feeling well. Morning sickness that lasts all day, etc. Anyway, she had a craving for pastrami, so she called me and said she’d pick one up for us, too. Only, she forgot that Grandma and Rodney had wanted sandwiches, too, so she only got one for herself, my mom, and me. Being the wonderful granddaughter I am, I shared mine with Grandma, which caused my mom to go into a round of “Are you sure that’s enough for you?”

After lunch, we had talked about going to a movie, but Lisa wasn’t sure if she was going to go. She said that she was going to wait and see if she felt better before she decided, yet, everyone kept asking her if she was going. Mainly my mom, but I did hear Aunt Kathy and Derek a few times, too. Lisa was very nice about it, but if I were her, I probably would’ve snapped someone’s head off. When they had exhausted her, it was my turn, since I had said if Lisa stayed I would keep her company. “Are you sure?” “She’s probably going to just sleep?” “Don’t you want to see the movie?” “Grandma’s paying” “What are you going to do?”

So, the ladies went to the movies and the boys went to see some light show and I stayed home with the sick pregnant woman, who insisted we turn on the fire, because “it was cozy.” Being that I live very close to hillsides that are prone to fires, I’m not a fan. At all. But, she’s pregnant, so Derek turned it on before they left, while I talked Grandpa into turning the heat down to 72 (it was set at 78!). As soon as they left, Lisa fell asleep and I sat by the fire and read. I wasn’t planning on sitting by the fire, but my favorite chairs were there, so I faced my fear and sat there. About two hours later, I fell asleep too, which was great since I’d gotten a total of four hours the night before and had to deal with mother all morning.

I woke up and Lisa was gone, tossing her lunch in the bathroom, no doubt. When she came out, we talked about my future and her insistence that I go to grad school of some sort. I’m definitely toying with the idea, but, being the impatient person that I am, I don’t want to spend 2 (or more) years in school. I want my life to start already! But that’s a post for another time….
The women come back and begin to tell us how “cute” Marley and Me was. Any movie that can be described as “cute” is one that I can rent, so I was perfectly happy in my decision to stay home. Lisa and I attempt to continue our discussion, but, of course, my mom interrupts with things like “Is that the book I got you for Christmas?” or “What time do you think we’ll leave tomorrow?” If she can’t be involved, then she’ll insert herself anyway she can. The plus side of her sitting down with us was I finally got the chance to say that I was re-thinking law school. I didn’t go into details, but at the very least, she has an idea and will leave me alone about applications for now.

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