Curtin Call

Life right now for me is crazy.  A lot has changed on the work front, after the reorg that was announced back in January.  We used to have anywhere from 4 – 6 admin and financial support folks, there is now one and that’s me (Okay, I do have another person that helps out but she’s only part time and has two reporting areas so I get 4 hours a week from her.  Not her fault but 4 hours a week when trying to run a shop of 16 people?  That’s not much time!) 

Personal life is crazy, too.  My parents came up with this brilliant idea on Sunday that they want the entire family to take a cruise between Xmas and New Years.  So they threw this idea out there completely out of the blue and needed an answer by Wednesday so they could book the tickets.  This baffled me!  I love my parents dearly but you would think by now, they would know that our family isn’t exactly the Brady Bunch.  We all have our own lives and we all live very different lives and to try to put all 13 of us on a ship in the middle of the ocean scares the bejesus out of me!  Brian’s first comment was “Someone’s going overboard!”  Now, I’m no glutton for punishment so I politely declined.  1.  I’m not going to subject myself to such pain, especially since you can’t exactly just hop in your car and drive home when things get bad and 2.  I’ve never been on a cruise.  I’ve always considered cruises to be very romantic.  If I’m going to take a cruise (which I’m not even convinced I could spend that much time in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight), I really think I would want to do that with my husband (and maybe another couple) but not with my family.  Sorry.  That’s just how I feel.  (Not to mention, the other support person takes that week for vacation)

Yesterday was the best, though.  My 18 year old niece decided to call me and tell me that I had no right to decline.  I’m upsetting her grandparents.  I was not about to explain my reasons to an 18 year old so I simply said I couldn’t get out of work (which I probably could if I really pushed it).  Not good enough, she said.  You’re 18.  You’re a kid (no, I’m not!).  What do you know?  Well, my dad has an important job and he got out of work.  Wait until you get into the real world, then you’ll understand a little better, I said.  I am in the real world.  Oh, really?  You’re a freshman in college, you’re far from being in the real world.

The conversation continued with her telling me what I should and should not be doing with my life.  There’s always been tension between me and my sister and it certainly carried onto her children (I’m not happy about that but I suppose it was inevitable).  But now, I can straighten out my god awful miserable life because an 18 year old has told me what I’ve been doing wrong all this time.

NOT!  I love my life!  I will not change a thing.