Trip to CO

Last year we bought a duplex in CO, because the prices there were much better than here in California. The down side is that I only have one person willing to help me there, my sister E. I'm lucky to have her help, tho.

Well, the day I've been dreading is here, and the long term tenant in the older (not renovated) side of the duplex got so old that her kids decided it was safer for her to be somewhere else.

So I sucked it up and flew out there for a short week to see what I could accomplish. Luckily my whole family pitched in ("painting party") plus I rented a few teenagers, so we got everything painted over the weekend. The rest of the time I was finishing the trim, staining and sealing, and arranging for new flooring, new countertops, etc. Like I can afford it, right? But what can you do...

It was really nice to have a short visit with people and feel the support of my family. As I said, my sister E has really helped me, but she has issues within the family that make it a touchy situation. In my opinion, most of her problems boil down to anger management, but my other sister, the Social Worker, maintains that she has deeper problems than that.

E is the youngest of four girls: I am the oldest. Historically, I have been the protector in the family, mainly protecting E from my sister the Social Worker, who I viewed as abusive toward her. Now the tables have turned, and E is the one who everyone views as abusive. But I remain the one in the family who is most positive with her (it helps that I live far away), and her help with my duplex has been positive for her as well, as it is something she is good at.

Well, the day we were all to go up and paint, E went "on the warpath", and woke me up with her constant calling. She was having a fight with my Mom, and she kept calling and calling. Not "normal" behavior. I picked up once and tried to tell her she was disturbing everyone, but she told me to mind my own business and I ended up hanging up on her too.

The next night, after dinner, E fell down the stairs and broke her foot! It was all very dramatic, as we were all ticked off at her, and she fell down the stairs! She was crying and yelling, "Someone take me to the hospital! I've broken my foot!" The dog ran downstairs and tried to lick it, then started barking at her. So I tried to keep the dog and my Dad away from the stairs. My sister M, who is almost a nurse, wrapped E's leg in a magazine and Mom taped it with packing tape, and somehow they got E up the stairs and out the door.

So my poor Mom had to go to the ER, after a long day painting and then cooking dinner and doing the dishes. I asked why M had used a magazine as a splint - did she want them to have something to read? She said she'd seen a boy scout do it before.

I turned out that E's foot was indeed badly broken, which she took as a "wake up call" that she should be nicer to everyone. Let's see how long THAT lasts! And, btw, the ER people LOVED the magazine splint, and called it one of the best they'd ever seen!

That was the most exciting part of my trip. The rest was work. And driving. I forget that since my parents live in South Denver, I need to drive an hour to get north of Denver, where the duplex is.

I also made it up to the mountains to deliver presents to my in-laws, who were just back from France and very tired. I stopped by to see J, who earlier this year was diagnosed with colon cancer. Luckily, it turned out to NOT be cancer, but he still had to have his entire colon removed. So he was home in a sweatsuit, wearing a santa hat on his head. He ended up having to tow my car out of his driveway, which was icy.

So the picture I have in my head that symbolizes this Christmas to me, is the vision of J in his Santa hat towing me out of his driveway.