I woke up this morning, checked for any unsightly pools of blood (none) and rolled onto the floor in my usual inelegant fashion. The trend for wooden floors is a bad one. This boy wants his wall-to-wall carpets, or at least a rug.
Not a floor so cold that your feet stick to it. Or is that just something to do with my feet?
I didn't realise that today was the day my christmas was going to get screwed.
I was actually looking forward to christmas - no putting up with the in-laws, good food and a general giggle with the family. Sadly, this appears not to be. I got a call from the aged grandmother during the course of this morning:
She (quavering in that way that only octagenarians can do): "Oh, hello there - I'm just calling to say how worried I am about your skiing trip..."
Me (uh oh): "Uh huh?"
She: "Yes, I've been talking to your father and he's worried sick too..."
There was then a monologue on how I owed it to father/aunt/sundry other family members to cancel and stay home. The final flourish (after she offered to cover any uninsured expenses) was "...your poor mother would be terribly worried if she were here"
I confronted my father later on in the day and indeed, he had put the old dear up to it. In spite of the fact that every medico has said "Go for it" (the surgeon said "Live your life") the man will not be swayed. And paternal approval matters to me. A lot.
Which means christmas is going to be bad. Reproachful glances will be cast about. Aged grandmother will keep on at this like a dog gnawing a bone. I fly out on the 27th, you see. I may opt to stay home on the 25th.
There are two aspects to this that really annoy me. One is that I no longer feel able to ask my immediate family for anything for fear of the subsequent 'payment' and certainly have no intention of telling them anything about my plans for the future (I mean, if going to Canada is causing this much angst, what will they make of sailing around the world in 2007, or taking part in a 3 week rally from the top to the tip of South America in 2006?)
The other is that I really thought that with The Ex gone, I'd be free of this sort of emotional blackmail.
Bugger.
