Dorothy had it right ...

I saw people sitting at computers talking on phones ..... why I would miss that particular activity is beyond me - but I do. 

I just had the umpteenth argument with my daughter about her overpacking.  Plus, she read a tweet from her ex last night that sent her into a funk.  He seems to be courting another girl at school. 

Europe is beautiful. The architecture in particular is stunning.  I really like the fashion sense of the women on the streets in France.  Understated, fictional, but never sloppy. 

I'm ready to hear American English on the street again, though.   And I'm ready to let my child fly away again for a few weeks.  I don't understand the 30 year olds who still live with the folks.  I'm looking forward to having my house back again.  

I wonder what will happen if I click my heels together three times...

Family Vacations are not for the Faint of Heart

Mix one person who's neurotic about timetables and planning with one person who is not a planner but is a control freak who insists on making the plans, and throw in one 20 year old who thinks that a day begins at 1:00PM.  It's a wonder any of us will survive the weekend. 

London is as I remember it.  Piccadilly Circus strongly resembles Times Square in that there are thousands of people all seemingly trying to walk into one another. 

Words I never thought I'd hear myself say in London: "That was the best cappuccino I've ever had in my life."

London highlight:  Jack The Ripper walking tour, complete with "Rippervision".  Two hours and thirty minutes around London's East End with an animated and entertaining female guide named Harry.  

On to the Chunnel. 

 

Conflict Resolution - Part 2

Sooooooooooooooo..........................................................

How far have I progressed since my last post?  Have I been able to improve my situation or that of those around me?  Not likely.  The facts as I see them, or perhaps more accurately - the facts and the way they make me feel:

 - decisions regarding a major point of conflict in my household are made without my involvement.  Then, they are communicated to me very casually......
Him:  "So, you're ok with me taking Mandy to the concert on Friday night............." in a manner that might suggest a trip to the Galleria Mall rather than an 8 hour round trip drive to a 3-hour concert held within spitting distance of the murder capital of the USA.
Me: "Ahhhh, no, I never said I was ok with any of this, in any iteration."
My daughter was instructed to say nothing to me, because we  both have "short fuses."  So what, I wonder, is more upsetting?  The trip to this concert or the blatant disregard for my wishes and feelings?  I suspect it is the latter, which .... makes me self-absorbed, I suppose.

- trying to control a situation that I can't control, in order to make things happen.  If I'm supposed to be one of the doers or one of the movers and shakers, but someone is throwing constant roadblocks at me, when do I just say "it's too much"?   I can't seem to get any help from anyone with this problem.  I'm continually being told to keep on top of things, but no matter what I do, there are a hundred little things that this person puts in my way.    What will I do when I can't get past him no matter how hard I try, and in the end, I've just failed and let people down?  Sometimes I think that this is what drowning must be like.  You want to breathe, people aren't throwing you a life preserver, they just keep telling you to breathe, but the harder you try to breathe, the more the water fills your lungs.    And then you're dead, but it's your own fault because you didn't try hard enough.  Everyone is disappointed.

Life really is a roller coaster.  I never would have thought it possible to simultaneously love and hate so much about mine at one time.