But the weekend started out on the right foot....

Friday morning I sent out an email to my dad, figuring I'd avoid further drama with my mother over the whole deadbeat brother in law mess. The email was sent to my dad with a note that said I had planned on sending it to them both blah blah blah.

My dad gave it to my mom. He figured she needed to know everything since, between the two of them, they'd created a situation that was now on the verge of ripping the family apart.

So, I had a little talk with my dad, brief but he apologized, said he had no clue how much I've had to deal with, no idea how my mom was treating me etc.

Then my mom called. She was crying, she's sorry, she had no idea what was going on, how much I've had to handle and how much I've been burdened with and how little she was aware of and blah blah fucking blah.

She sounded sincere. I'm guessing the email will last for a week. After young McNoogin's 4th birthday, things will go back to normal, I'll be the asshole who is always trying to create drama in the house of McNoogin. But Friday? One day? Yeah, I was the good son again. First time in ten or so years. It felt kinda nice.

Of course, from there it went downhill.

Saturday, the beach with the kids. Got there early, saw some friends and was all prepped to enjoy a nice day by the ocean. Only it wasn't that warm. It was hot as balls in the city but by the ocean? Cooler. Much cooler. So, when my daughter said she wanted to go in the ocean I said no. For starters, it's 70 at best out and the water temperature is in the neighborhood of 50 degrees. We were standing in the water, ankle deep when I said that. Then my balls ran, shrieking, up behind my spleen for warmth.

So, the pool, she said. Let's go in the pool. Definitely. She can swim well enough that I can sit on the side and watch and all is right in the world and "Dad, I want to go too."

FUCK.

The boy.

Forgot about him. I need to be with him. I could put swimmies on him but he has to learn to swim without them and he can stand in this pool now so, fine, fuck it, I'll go in. How bad can it be?


I shit an ice cube Saturday night. That's how bad.

The pool is heated but it's huge so it takes forever for it to warm up. By August it feels like you're swimming in a giant urine filled toilet but now? In May? The Titanic wouldn't have sailed in that water.

But my kids did. And so did I. For an hour.

Then we ate at my wife's favorite italian restaurant. She loves this place because it's where she went when she was growing up. Every town has a pizza/pasta joint like this. Hers is much larger than most but the food is, more or less, the same. Good, not great. Big scene etc.

And, for some reason, I get sick every time I eat there. Doesn't matter what it is, something in the food results in my spending inordinate amounts of time on the throne afterward.

And I did.

Big time.


Sunday we had to go see my mother outlaw at her new rehab facility. Not rehab for her addiction to painkillers (thank god), rehab for her hip. She had the second one replaced last week and, as much as she drives me nuts, this woman is an ox. She had the hip replaced on Tuesday. She was walking the next day. She's a tough old broad. If I'm ever in a dark alley, surrounded by some gang, I want her with me. She's scary as fuck and strong as hell. I'd take her over tyson in his ear eating days.

Before rehab , my daughter had a birthday party. A fucking movie at 10 am. I didn't even know movie theaters were open that early. I was going to take both kids and stay with my son and watch the movie (UP) but he bailed at the last minute so I took my daughter and wound up with 2 or so hours to kill. So, I went to the toy store for a bit, hit starbucks and then sat in the middle of Broadway and enjoyed the scenery. Then, after realizing I'd killed all of twenty minutes, I walked to my office. My new tenant was moving in so I thought it might be nice to check on his progress. I was sorry I did the minute I opened the door. Well, tried to open the door. It was blocked from the inside so I had to climb in.

The office was a fucking disaster area.

I hung out for a few minutes and then left because it was scaring me. All that shit and no place to put it. I reminded the new guy that the one caveat is no clutter.

Spent the afternoon at rehab, dinner with the outlaws (not mother outlaw, she's confined to the facility). Decent burger joint, got home late.

Get to work this morning and see that the new guy has moved artwork and furniture around. He's going to have to put that all back.

He also managed to get his network up and running as well as his printer.

And how did he manage this? By disabling mine, it seems. And the cocksucker isn't here to deal with it.

His tech guy says he'll be in around lunch time. My tech guy can't make it at all today.

So, I can access the internet. I can look at my files and I can talk to my clients but I cannot do anything beyond that.

On the bright side, I have time to head to the costume shop and see if there's a spiderman costume that won't make me look like a fucking jackass. Either that or a goblin costume for the boy's party.