Incoming!

Patience, Richard. Patience.

My in-laws are inbound. For me, that's a little like knowing that someone's going to wing a hand grenade into the room... eventually. It puts me on my guard.

They're not bad people... and I love them dearly. But rarely does a visit go by where my father-in-law doesn't casually insult our house, town, parenting, dogs, food, schools, and/or any other important-to-us thing. My wife's parent's are divorced... and we're having her mother, father, and stepmother over. That mix can either be neutral or tense. Also, one of Maggie's brothers is coming over, along with our next-door neighbors.

Her brother. Oh my god.

I think he's got Asperger Syndrome. I really do. It's the only thing that explains his affect, lack of physical awareness, or the crazy-ass gaps in logic that occur when you talk to him.

I'm not being very Jesus-like, I know. I've got to be more pre-emptively loving, rather than worrying about the fact that my brother-in-law, who is 42, single, and lives with his aunt... couldn't be bothered to volunteer to cook anything, and will have to be strongly prompted to help clean up his own dishes, let alone anyone else's. I'm working on it.

And frankly, I should thank God for the family I have. My crazy fuck of a father, God bless him, is in California with my mom, and I haven't seen or spoken to either of them in about 2.5 years. But I think I'll cover thankfulness in my next post.

Love to all. Even you, whoever stunk up the 6 train this afternoon.