Family + Holiday = Drama

Oh, the holidays! Typically Skye and I are rushed to visit all of our loving family members over the holidays. We usually go to my dad's for an early lunch, then my mom's, then to visit with his dad's side of the family, then his mom's maternal side of the family and lastly end up at his mom's paternal side of the family. (Not to mention the fact that I do not usually get to see my grandparents because there just isn't enough time in a day. Hiding this sentence in a parenthesis counts as me "not mentioning" this.) We make our way from Clinton, to North Knox, to Farragut and usually end up in Friendsville - and for those of you outside my little area that's at least an hour drive time one way.

This year a blessing was bestowed upon us in the form of a new work schedule for Skye! He is actually getting the day off on Thanksgiving, but will have to go back to work on Friday. He is also under the stress of writing a 20 page research paper before he graduates the academy on December 15th. So needless to say, we cannot be running all around town when he needs to be focused on his paper, and we cannot be staying at his papaw's house until 10pm (with an hour drive home) when he has to get up early for work. I, for one, was thrilled that we did not have to play the holiday hustle and bustle this year. I despise that with a passion! We will probably make ONE stop within my family on Thursday to eat some Thanksgiving food, and then meet up at ONE stop with his family on Sunday. I am perfectly content with this plan, and very much looking forward to relaxing and enjoying my time off work!

Sounds pretty drama free this year, right? Well hell you know that's way too easy for me!! I found out today that my dad got married this afternoon to his gold digging fiance. I knew this was coming...for one because they got engaged last February so I begrudgingly assumed that marriage would follow...and for two because she let the cat out of the bag last week while my dad was in the hospital with his heart attack. I know this sounds horrible, but I'm going to go ahead and admit to you that my brother, dad and I got into a HUGE massive blow up fight over this "secret marriage" bullshit just last Monday while Dad was still in the hospital. I told my Dad that I would try to be happy for him....so that's what I am going to try and do. That is, after I vent all my frustration out here of course.

Let me break this down for you -
This all started back in October of last year. My dad had been acting fishy for a couple of months so we maybe suspected that he had a girlfriend. I was excited for him because I have never wanted him to be alone once my brother finally moved out. I had visions of a youthful, but appropriate cute lady friend for my dad who would take me shopping and be a good match for our family. WRONG! My dad asked my brother and I to go to dinner one night to meet a friend of his...aka his girlfriend. Again, I'm looking forward to this meeting. I walk into the restaurant we are meeting at and see my dad, see my brother, and see this GIRL sitting by my dad. My dad is 48 and this chick looked to be in her early 30's. I was immediately taken aback and a little disgusted. I just didn't think my dad would turn into THAT creepy old guy. Despite my first reactions to their obvious age difference, I thought that maybe this girl would be very mature for her age and a nice fit for my dad. WRONG AGAIN! She's an immature, emotional, recently divorced secretary with two young kids. The more I learn about her, the more turned off I am about this relationship.

Some time goes by, and I do not have much interaction with this girlfriend. Then all of a sudden I'm out of town in February and I find out VIA FACEBOOK that they have become engaged. Talk about flipping the fuck out...I called my dad and tore him a new one. I was furious and embarrassed and confused and still disgusted.

Let me refresh your memory by saying that my parents divorced when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. Since then, my mom remarried when I was in about 6th grade but my dad has never so much as introduced us to a girlfriend. Then out of the blue, comes the girlfriend from Hell. She says inappropriate things, cries over any cross eyed look my brother or I send her way, tells my dad that we are brats, and has 2 kids that I have no intentions of getting to know.

So again, a couple months go by giving me time to adjust to this new engagement situation. I spend more time with this girl only to find out that she's actually 29...three years older than me. DIS-GUST-ING! I just cannot find a good reason to keep giving her chances when all I really want to do is hate her. Sure there are times when I can have a fun conversation with her or share a laugh, but mostly I find myself questioning her motives and my dad's sanity. Can we say mid-life crisis????

So today, my dad texts me to "let me know first", since I have often found out their business on Facebook before I've been told, that they went to the courthouse and got married. Gag. But I promised him last week that I would try to play nice. So I text him back with a simple - congrats. There are no words to describe my true feelings. Instead of being an emotional wreck, like his new wife, I'm void of emotion for this situation.

On a better note, I am definitely feeling a good raging work out coming on tonight! Nothing says Happy Holidays like the forceful interference of a new family member!