Wednesday, November 19, 2008

off the hook

First of all, I am thrilled not to be the only cousin posting on this blog. Not only does it feel less lonely, but it's been simply precious to share in such well crafted and hilarious stories... I've been wanting to answer back with a jaw-dropper of my own (detailing the time my Dad was freaking out having to drive Granddad's Cadillac while totally stoned), but I've got to do some fact checking. I always thought the chronic was supplied by his brother John, but my Mom swears it was my other Uncle John... (Don't tell Margaret...) Oh, and Sis, kudos are totally fine. This blog is whatever we want it to be. And I am also proud that Margaret had a chance to play such a positive role in this historic election...

I am also happy to report that our brother has managed to avoid going to jail for his recent bout of bipolar bad behavior. I'd been waiting to post updates until I knew everything was settled, and now, as of his court date this past Monday, it seems it is. His lawyer convinced the judge to drop all the charges (new and old) so long as Billy stays out of trouble for 90 days. I believe this makes his goal Sunday February 15th, though Billy wisely recognized he really needs to be on good behavior for life - or at least for two years, the length of his original probationary period. I am excited for Billy that he's not in jail, but I'm excited for me that I finally have a chance to add a countdown to this site. A countdown, some may recall, was a planned feature of the original "Don't Tell Margaret." At the time we were going to count down Marybeth's remaining days of living in sin. Billy's days of living without sin seems like a suitable substitute.

Billy's Good Behavior Countdown will end just a week after my planned visit north for the Aquarius birthday season. With Billy & Grace sharing a birthday on January 28th and Mom turning 65 on February 4th, it's a logical enough time to take a trip, but, in truth, I've never made a habit out of visiting during their birthday season. This year my presence is required as Grace has been planning her 5th birthday party for, oh, 8 months now. She's holding it at a bounce house where even grown-ups can bounce, so you know I'm all for that.

Grace has made an additional special request. She wants to have, "a sleep-over, at my house, with my cousins, and with you and Uncle Kevin - just like when I was 3!" I must say, that was quite a bash we had. It started out like any normal slumber party. We watched movies, ate pizza and made art & crafts (involving lots of scissors - those cousins just love scissors). Then it got a little frenzied. We made a huge mess thanks in small part to the apparently disposable pom-poms (which shed worse than Suzanne's menagerie of cats) and in large part to Madisyn (who decided to move everything from Grace's room in to the hallway). Later we read tons of books - potty training books (for Grace) and bedtime stories (five in total - one for each of us). We didn't read enough bedtime stories, it turns out, cuz the bedtime part didn't stick. We soon found ourselves out in the living room, dancing a jig to the tunes on Kevin's ipod, avoiding smashing in to Grace's worldly belongings, until we crashed out sometime after midnight. (Somewhere in between, of course, we had the whole "boo boo cream debacle" which I already blogged about here.)

So it's no surprise that Grace is looking for a repeat of such a legendary evening. Only now we're going to try to convince her to host it at the Great Wolf Lodge, this cool hotel / waterpark where we're planning to stay. We're also hoping to convince Savannah and Maddie that this is a superior alternative to replace their recently cancelled trip to Disneyland. Grandpa TT (as they call him) was going to take them there for New Year's, but it's been a bit of an expensive year (with all the car smashing and whatnot) and he's already making a trip to California (right now, in fact), so he's not really feeling the whole Disney thing. Billy hasn't broken the news to the girls yet but I suggested it's all in the way he frames it. Act excited about the alternative and they will be too. Act disappointed and betrayed and that's exactly how they'll feel as well. Here's hoping they're let down easy...

And, since my folks are in route and due to arrive tomorrow, I suppose I should get back to (or, erm, actually start) cleaning my house. At least procrastination always brings me back to the blogging world.

But before I go, happy belated birthday, Sis. Looks like yesterday was just peachy.

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