Notes and blogs rarely just spring into existence for me. I usually wait for a spark of inspiration. Sometimes it's an event or sometimes it's something simple like a phone call. This is one of those times.
My Mom is not in good health right now. Bouncing back and forth between hospitals and 'care facilities'. (call them what you want, they're Rest Homes to me...) On a recent visit, Mom's hospital room phone rang. I answered since Mom was not in a state of mind to talk on said phone. It was Judy on the other end of the line.
Judy is my sister-in-law, and for those that know anything about me or our family, our relationship is best described as 'strained'. It was a very nice, pleasant phone call. I think it surprised both of us. :)
Here's the focus of this particular note. Judy and her place in my life. I think it will surprise a few of you, including some of my trolls. (Hello ladies)
Judy is a formidable woman. I flipped over her when Michael brought her home and introduced her to the family. I often told him that if I ever met a woman like her, I'd marry her. And I did. (sidenote: this comments usually grates on my wife's nerves to no end, for she and Judy pretty much despise one another and see no resemblance to each other whatsoever...) I see that both women are people of passion, that they love completely and fiercely, that they are loyal to their loved ones to a fault, that they are highly intelligent and emotional women. Not to be trifled with unless you're willing to deal with the consequences. They're both redheads for a reason.
In my own way, I hold Judy in pretty high regard. She was Michael's soul mate and best companion. I often wished that he had met and married her first. He was never so happy as when he was married to Judy. And I will always be grateful to her for bringing so much happiness to his life. I wish they could have had more time together.
Judy is a formidable foe as well. Frankly, she's one of the handful of people on the planet that I would count worthy of being on opposing sides of an issue and capable of providing me a decent challenge. I respect that too.
That said, let's look at where Judy and I are today. Lots of things happened when Michael died. I won't rehash them here, it's well documented elsewhere. Judy and I find ourselves in the position of working together right now for Mom's sake. I suspect we have entered into Mom's end run. There are a lot of things that are about to happen to bring even bigger changes to the family structure. Mom's death won't be the last for a while... There will be a lot more emotional upheaval for all of us to deal with.
Judy and I have a common interest here. Mom's welfare in this difficult time. Judy and I will never be friends, and I think we both acknowledge this fact, but we can work together in Mom's best interests. And we can be nice and pleasant to each other on the occasions when we are thrown together. After Mom's passing, we can fully go our separate ways, and that's just fine.
I don't hate Judy. I never did. I felt for her loss when Michael died. I hope that she is coping with the major changes in her life since his passing. I hope that those who love her are paying attention and giving her the love and support she needs during this time in her life.
And I still think she's a formidable woman.
My Mom is not in good health right now. Bouncing back and forth between hospitals and 'care facilities'. (call them what you want, they're Rest Homes to me...) On a recent visit, Mom's hospital room phone rang. I answered since Mom was not in a state of mind to talk on said phone. It was Judy on the other end of the line.
Judy is my sister-in-law, and for those that know anything about me or our family, our relationship is best described as 'strained'. It was a very nice, pleasant phone call. I think it surprised both of us. :)
Here's the focus of this particular note. Judy and her place in my life. I think it will surprise a few of you, including some of my trolls. (Hello ladies)
Judy is a formidable woman. I flipped over her when Michael brought her home and introduced her to the family. I often told him that if I ever met a woman like her, I'd marry her. And I did. (sidenote: this comments usually grates on my wife's nerves to no end, for she and Judy pretty much despise one another and see no resemblance to each other whatsoever...) I see that both women are people of passion, that they love completely and fiercely, that they are loyal to their loved ones to a fault, that they are highly intelligent and emotional women. Not to be trifled with unless you're willing to deal with the consequences. They're both redheads for a reason.
In my own way, I hold Judy in pretty high regard. She was Michael's soul mate and best companion. I often wished that he had met and married her first. He was never so happy as when he was married to Judy. And I will always be grateful to her for bringing so much happiness to his life. I wish they could have had more time together.
Judy is a formidable foe as well. Frankly, she's one of the handful of people on the planet that I would count worthy of being on opposing sides of an issue and capable of providing me a decent challenge. I respect that too.
That said, let's look at where Judy and I are today. Lots of things happened when Michael died. I won't rehash them here, it's well documented elsewhere. Judy and I find ourselves in the position of working together right now for Mom's sake. I suspect we have entered into Mom's end run. There are a lot of things that are about to happen to bring even bigger changes to the family structure. Mom's death won't be the last for a while... There will be a lot more emotional upheaval for all of us to deal with.
Judy and I have a common interest here. Mom's welfare in this difficult time. Judy and I will never be friends, and I think we both acknowledge this fact, but we can work together in Mom's best interests. And we can be nice and pleasant to each other on the occasions when we are thrown together. After Mom's passing, we can fully go our separate ways, and that's just fine.
I don't hate Judy. I never did. I felt for her loss when Michael died. I hope that she is coping with the major changes in her life since his passing. I hope that those who love her are paying attention and giving her the love and support she needs during this time in her life.
And I still think she's a formidable woman.
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