Good gravy - it's been a month since I last posted?! I guess it's a good thing this is a hobby and not a job!
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| What's been keeping me busy. |
The Happy Couple are doing their level best to drive me out of my mind. How, you ask - well, they have secured a venue for the wedding...TWO days after Thanksgiving. I'm guessing they went with this date because that's when the venue was available. I realize I wasn't thrilled when they announced the original date of November 18 (the weekend prior to Thanksgiving) - but now I'd be DELIGHTED if it were the 18th.
I have not - and will not - say a word about it. But I had hoped the loud mouth love of my life, The Husband, would. He has not and, shockingly, has no plans to do so (which is shocking in that, nine times out of ten, he has no problem opening his mouth and letting words fall out) Then I figured surely her mother would - as far as I know, she hasn't. Or maybe she has and has been ignored.
I understand that The Fiancée wants a "fall" wedding (although this date is actually veering into the "winter" timeline, I think.) and Man-Child refuses to have the wedding until after the high school football season is over. But Thanksgiving weekend? One of the busiest travel weekends of the year? None of it makes sense to me; at all.
I'm sure the venue they've selected is beautiful - but it's in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. And she keeps mentioning maybe having the wedding outside. Two days after Thanksgiving, in the mountains, on the verge of winter. So now we are asking people to travel here - then get in a car and drive nearly two hours (or four depending on which airport they fly into) to arrive at the venue/hotel and then (maybe) subject them to the cold for the service?
I doubt they've even given any thought to the fact that this date may actually deter people from attending.
As I've said - I am not going to say a word, it is their wedding - not ours. That's why I am here telling you. It will all work out fine in the end, I am sure. But TWO days after Thanksgiving?! Have they lost their minds?
I wonder just how much it would take to convince them to elope. But with my luck, I'd pay them off, they'd elope and then want the reception two days before Christmas.
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In his own way, The Husband is also doing his level best to drive me crazy.
I made a very firm rule several years ago. I determined that I would not buy any more hangers. Ever.
Yes, I realize that this sounds like a ridiculous and insane rule - but hear me out - this rule keeps my closet in order. Generally, I have extra hangers in my closet - but if for whatever reason I don't; that means it's time to purge. New things had come in via Christmas, and I needed to have a clear out. Which is exactly what I did the other night when I couldn't sleep.
This rule though is a problem for The Hoarder Husband. After I finished laundry the other afternoon, I couldn't find a hanger in his closet for a pair of his jeans (a pair of jeans that are so ratty I've forbidden him from wearing them out of the house) - so I left them on the bed. When asked about it (while I was brushing my teeth), I reminded him of the rule and mentioned that he needed to go through the closet the next day and get rid of some things - before I could even finish the sentence he said that he had to go *insert random place here* the next day. So I said that he could do it when he came home. He immediately replied, "I'm not coming home." (imagine a petulant five year old saying it; because that's exactly what he sounded like) I almost choked on the toothpaste, I was laughing so hard.
I laughed again when he came home the following day and the first words out his mouth were, "I'm not really here."
I haven't yet forced him to do that clear out yet; but it IS coming.
In theory, I should just go through everything and toss/recycle - but these are not MY clothes, so this isn't a job for ME. His thought process is this - yes, those pants don't fit but "one day" they MIGHT. Or, "this is my FAVORITE shirt!" Never mind that it is falling apart at the seams.
Maybe we can compromise and I will lay out what I think needs to go and he can have the final say. It might be the only way to get this task completed. I guess it would be a good use of our time as we wait for the dryer repair person to show up...
Staying at home waiting for someone to come to the house to repair something is tedious. Even if you were already planning on being home, waiting around wears on me. Yet I do it. I don't know what I'd do about the kids who want to get married the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'd probably be like you and say nothing, but it's a lame idea. As for your husband and his absurd avoidance of letting go of ratty clothes, I'm kind of laughing here. If he's behaving like a five year old, maybe you should treat him as such and toss the ratty stuff for him.
ReplyDeleteIt IS tedious...because you are stuck. Need something from the grocery store? It'll have to wait. As for the kids, I know my only option is to keep my mouth shut but that doesn't mean I have to like it. It is only going to make an already hectic season more hectic.
DeleteYikes, lots of irritants!!! I had a cousin who got married December 23. Two days before Christmas! Who knows what she was thinking, actually, she maybe was pregnant. Which is obviously not the case here but still, a ridiculous idea. I did not go since it was either a ten hour drive across the prairies in December, or a flight (travel at Christmas!) and a two-hour drive after the flight. But my parents went, maybe they stayed with my grandparents for Christmas. I don't know, it's all kind of fuzzy, it was a long time ago. Too bad about their idea of the date, but I guess there isn't really anything to do about it.
ReplyDeleteDecember 23rd?! That's even worse! Nope, not much to be done. This is a lesson they will have to learn on their own.
DeleteI think when engaged people start planning their wedding, they enter a bubble. That bubble is impervious to thought, reality, and intrusion of the outside world. All they can consider is themselves and Their Wedding, which becomes Priority One, and not just for themselves, but to their minds, for EVERYONE ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is also a clothes hoarder. He also sees each article of clothing with a past, such as who bought it for him or when it was acquired. If he gets rid of it, he gets rid of the person/actual event/memory. Going through his clothes is horrific. He once amassed 30 pairs of jeans, and each one was Necessary. It was finally accomplished by both of us, but it took hours. I empathize.
You nailed it, Nance! All I can do is shake my head and hope they come to their senses. They won't; but I can hope.
DeleteGlad to know I'm not the only one suffering with a clothes hoarder! We'll get it done somehow...without buying new hangers.
Oh, I think you are wise not weigh in on the Happy Couple's, um, interesting timing choice. Yeah, that's a tough one. And outdoors? I went to a wedding years ago that was in NYC in October, and only found out when I got there that it was outside. At sunset. It was a chilly but pretty day, but the minute the sun went down, the temp dropped. And then! They had set it up so that everyone was to sign the guestbook as they went inside, so there was this long line of people freezing in the cold and dark waiting for that. So many questionable decisions there! Hopefully yours will work out better than that.
ReplyDeleteOdds are good given the interesting timing (I love the way you phrased that!) and the venue, it won't be outside. I hope. November in NC isn't usually terribly cold - but that's where I live, not the mountains.
DeleteOh my! That is a terrible time for a wedding, in my opinion. No telling what the weather will be like, or whether the guests would really want to go to all that trouble to get there. I had to laugh at the clothes situation. Hopefully your two-year-old Husband will come to his senses before you toss everything out! :-)
ReplyDeleteI feel validated that you all agree it is terrible timing. But what can we do? The Husband....also what can we do?
Delete1) I have a puzzle that will drive you crazy. Look it up... The Two Million Dollar Puzzle. It's coming to the hospital with me, because what else would I do with four days of incapacitation?
ReplyDelete2 & 3) I give up on appliances and computers. I have ZERO luck with any of them.
4) Maybe that is their end goal, to whittle down the list without having to exclude. Bottom line, you'll be there and that's what matters. Bring a coat, and maybe some snow shoes, it will be awesome.
5) Hubs and I have a rule. If he wants a new t shirt he must get rid of two. Youngest was having a panic attack Sunday and I had to go to his room and literally (hoarder style) go through every single thing in there and make a "keep", "Donate", and "Save for ten years from now" piles. GAH!!! He had executive function at one point I swear, but now he has to learn it all over again. Sadly, you hit it on the head, it's THEIR things, and THEY have to do it, otherwise it leads to unseen trauma and the hoard just gets bigger.
That puzzle looks very daunting! And I'm sure it will keep you occupied as you recover! Appliances - UGH! They certainly aren't made to last any more, that's for sure.
DeleteI am sorry for all the vexations, but they made for very enjoyable reading. We can ALL relate to that enormous window for service calls (and then sometimes they cancel - ugh).
ReplyDeleteThe timing of the wedding does sound like a nightmare but, but, but...it will still be lovely and wonderful and memories will be made. My sister got married right after Christmas and at the time it did feel like a bit of a nightmare, but it WAS lovely, and we have great memories from that time.
Patiently watching someone else hoard or keep old things or simply not tow my minimalistic line is very vexing to me. It is so hard to not take a giant trash bag into my kids rooms and just sweep every little paper craft and half-chewed wad of gum off their shelves. But I don't. We slowly pick away at things when it becomes more than I can bear, and then 2 days later it looks like a bomb went off again. Sigh.
Not sure about an outdoor wedding at the end of November. I am chilly thinking about it. I think you're right - it will all work out fine. I hope it is a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteThe office manager at Coach's clinic pulled me aside a few decades ago and told me to watch Coach's pants when I did the laundry. I was pretty busy, and his pants were frayed at the bottom. I was mortified. Good luck getting him on board with eliminating some stuff.
Oooh, your hanger rule is a good one! Very smart. Our closet recently collapsed, and I can only believe that if we'd had your hanger rule it would still be standing!
ReplyDeleteTWO DAYS after Thanksgiving. Outside. In the mountains.
Well. There is plenty of time for the nonsense of that combination of things to occur to The Fiancee. Or not! And maybe it will be a very small chilly wedding. I hope you have started looking for fleece-lined dresses!
Hopefully you will find someone to fix the dryer in a timely fashion! Good luck, Gigi! And here's hoping the week ahead is FREE of vexations!
Good luck on the Dryer situation; it's always annoying and hopefully yours will be an easy fix.
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing so hard at your husbands 'I'm not coming home' and 'I'm not really here' comments! He's funny and I enjoy how he's trying to avoid the necessary. I need to enact the NO More Hangers rule too!
I remember when my cousin got married on Thanksgiving weekend (the Saturday after) and my Grandma kept complaining about it. It wasn't a big deal to us as we drove there and its was inside a hotel. (in Miami) Do you think maybe they don't want a lot of people to show up for the nuptials? I suppose I'm lucky as Lolo let us choose the date!
I can't believe man child is getting married. I've got loads to catch up on. Glad to hear your all doing well.x BNM
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I'm getting a comment from you!! It's been a minute, hasn't it? Yes, he had the nerve to grow up on me and is engaged. I can't actually believe it myself.
DeleteBoyfriend, (long story there) suggested I start the blog and I went back to see who was still around. And here you are xx I'm trying to blog again but will see.
ReplyDelete