I was supposed to have one and a half weeks between Thanksgiving and Channukah. That time was meant to be used for a thousand things, caught in the juggle of catching up with everything I make, gifts, holidays, parenting, and general life. Every day was going to be nonstop, but I had a plan for it all.
The Friday before Channukah I called Rabbit to wake him up, and within an hour he found out that a neighbor who was consistently hollering at him over nothing, or calling the cops on things that wasn't him had filed with the township about his front yard being "unsightly". He also got told by one of his new roommates that he wasn't able to make rent, and had to deal with a someone showing up to do some pest treatments. As he was driving away from all this, he got a call saying animal control was there, because the same neighbor had filed another complaint about noise and the yard being a "health hazard" due to smell and feces, which is interesting considering dogs haven't been there for three months.
All that in an hour, and before coffee. He was panicking, because the roommates haven't been helping anywhere near as much as they said they would, and he needed to get some things cut up or into the garage, still with a back injury, because he had no idea what counted as part of the complaint. I offered to go out there, to be able to help him over a few days, and then we could continue the week we planned to have. I spoke to Squishy about it, and she understood.
When I spoke to my mom, she started with her current method of trying to sabotage everything and make me feel horrible. Where previously she was trying to say that she wanted every other weekend with Squishy, had no problem with spending time with her, suddenly asking her to watch Squishy for one weekend every other month was too much. She brought up that there was so much to do for Channukah, and I told her that I looked at everything that needed to be done, and I would do as much as I could in the few days mid-week that I would be home, and be home on Saturday. Suddenly she was quiet.
So I scrambled my things together, and went out for a few days. We got things moved outside the house, and I helped him catch up with many things in the house that he was going to need to do. Overall, we tried to find ways to spend time together, but for the most part we were busy with some number of things. A lot was accomplished to be honest, and by the Tuesday before Channukah we were waiting for the inspector to come. I was getting some final things done, and heard from a friend that she was making a trip to Jersey. We made plans for her to come by for Channukah at my place, and I was excited to see her again, because Squishy loves her, and my mom would like to meet her new baby.
We had to leave to run errands and go to an appointment for Rabbit's back, but had a little time in between so we popped back to the house. The inspector showed up right near when we were supposed to leave, but we had to stay at that point. Before we even got outside, the one neighbor came out and was complaining to the inspector about how horrible everything was, and how Rabbit should be kicked out his home, or sent to jail for the state everything was in. We got outside, and he said that the front yard was fine. We showed him the picture of how everything was previously, and he said that he had a feeling, and that this neighbor was filing unnecessary complaints, but they have to be responded to.
Then he asked to see the back yard. Apparently just in the time between filing the complaint about the front, and the inspector coming, he filed a second complaint about the back yard. Now, two days before Channukah, we were told that we had ten days to make substantial progress on the yard, or it would go to court. Rabbit is also supposed to go back to work in about a week, and we have no idea how his back will be doing in that time.
I got home, no longer able to have the day with him that I had planned due to this new crisis, but told my mom that I had a surprise for her. She was uninterested, and acting like I insulted her by saying it, then asked if it was that I was doing all the cooking for the holiday Sunday. I pointed out that I already do most of the cooking. She got quiet for a minute, then asked if I was doing the shopping. I said that I already keep track of the lists, and go with her to make sure we get everything we need. She brought up that I don't also pay for it, in a serious tone that because I'm not doing absolutely everything physically, mentally, and financially none of it counts. She doesn't even expect her other kids to show up and help, and they don't even show interest in doing more than making an appearance, but I get to be villainized if I don't do absolutely everything.
It's not a joyous holiday season, and I wish we had the time to celebrate together the way we want to, because we deserve a break from things exploding for once. We work far too hard to make something happy for ourselves to have people constantly try to crush it.
Comments
Post a Comment