At the end of this month my ex-inlaws are driving down from Canada to visit with Celeste and Jess. They are staying for 10 days and, of course, they want to see Celeste as much as possible which means, ideally, all 10 days. This is understandable and wonderful and all of those other good words. And I, of course, want them to be as big a part of Celeste’s life as possible. And I want Celeste to spend as much time with them as she can get.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck, too. 10 days is such a long time.
I’m not officially on bad terms with them or anything. In fact, we converse as much now as we did when Jess and I were together. Maybe more. But I also didn’t catch even a hint of an invitation from Jess to come over for dinner one or twice throughout the 10 days.
On the one hand I know 10 days is going to be rough. Very rough. Because I’m just that way. I feel all the important feelings with intense amplification. So I’m inclined to distract myself as heavily as possible: ROAD TRIP. Or debauchery. But a Road Trip is more likely.
On the other hand, on the off chance that something should happen I’d like to be around. Not anything bad. I know she’s in good hands with Jess and even more so with her parents around. And my parents and many of my friends would be happy to step in if something should happen and assistance were needed. I’m not worried at all in that regard. But… if Celeste should ask for me I’d like to be reachable by phone. Or if Jess should decide to give me a night or invite me to dinner on whim, if I’m not around then I’ll feel guilty for not being there. Not because I should feel guilty but because that’s just how I am.
So I’m thinking, whatever I do, I’ll try to get it done in the first 4 to 6 days. That’ll leave me with 4 to 6 more days to recover, get some stuff done around the house, engage in debauchery, and be available just in case.
It looks like the Texas Gulf Coast is the destination of choice. That’s way exciting for me. Believe it or not, I’ve never been.