I feel so old…3 days on the road will do that to you. Had a GREAT time with family though!
Up until about a week ago, I had no plans. My parents and I were going to go to TN to see my bro, but we were shunned, so we weren’t going to do really anything. Then, we decided to go to IL to see my grandmother, who is terminally ill and may or may not make it to Christmas. It turned out to be a much bigger trip than we anticipated – the Paxson family get-togethers are nothing if not a “pack it in weekend”.
We caravanned the 7 hours over there, which was fun with the walkie-talkies. We wore the batteries down prematurely. 
Me and the kids were in one car, my parents in the other. The kids were wonderful the entire trip! First stopped to see Grannon and Pop, which was made much more interesting with my aunt and her new lesbian “partner” who decided to bring a dog the size of a small horse. Got a hotel room, and let the kids play in the swimming pool. They loved it!
The next day, we’d planned on just going home after check-out, but as we were leaving, my Uncle Jerry called and wanted to have lunch. So, we drove an hour to meet up with him and visited with him and his long-time girlfriend. Somewhere in there, I got the brilliant idea to expand the trip another day to visit with my cousins in St Louis on the way back, and take the kids to their father’s house as a surprise.
I was an hour late getting there, so I was in a hurry. Kept the car running and got the kids inside (I always try to spend as little time there as possible). What I DIDN’T know, was that the car I was driving – which wasn’t mine – had an automatic locking mechanism when the car was running. So, it had to idle for a half hour while Jason worked feverishly to pry the window open enough to use a coat hanger to roll down the auto windows. His neighbor came over to lend support, and then so did HIS girlfriend. Then Jason’s fiance came out too. Before long, it was like a full-on block party – only not nearly as much fun. Finally got it open and I went to my cousin’s (who only live 10 minutes from him).
I was warmly welcomed at my cousin’s house and stayed up talking at the kitchen table until 5am! It was awesome, which alleviated a lot of the tension arising from the nightmare at my ex’s. Chugged some Redbulls and got on the road. Just got home around 8pm tonight.
That’s what I call a Thanksgiving in true family tradition. FINE HOLIDAY FUN!!
Shunned, huh? Sounds pretty harsh. There was far more involved than that. But, I’ll be the bad guy again.
Oh, and glad you had a good time seeing Grannon and Pop, since, it was obviously a bad idea to go see them with kids. Or, so we were told, when we wanted to go see them. We should have seen them anyway. That was our fault.
I am pretty upset by what happened. And no, no one came to your brother’s house, and your brother’s family didn’t go anywhere. We celebrated Thanksgiving alone.
Out of sight, out of mind, right? I’m getting used to not being thought of. I’m just upset that we were told one thing, and something else happened.
Cheers! Glad you had a good time. It’s important that the grandkids get to see their grandparents. I’m sure it’s been awhile (if at all) that your little ones got to see them.
Shunned huh……I guess that’s something you would say since you have no clue what’s going on in our lives. You can be so self-centered! You have no clue what is happening in other people’s lives nor does it seem like you care or you wouldn’t have made such a cruel and ugly statement. But hey who cares right!!