Always is when I go away for the weekend with my family...
You can guarantee when I come back he's "been ill". EVERY TIME. So I phoned him - first sentence "I've been ill". Like its my fault because I went away!
STILL not taking all his medication that the GP gave him so I offer ZERO sympathy. Basically, wants me to tell him how he can feel better - "Take the meds the GP has given you Dad, if that fails then go an see you're GP but I'm not a doctor."
His words - "I desperately need you to visit the weekend." "I've got no food in the house" (Brother lives literally 5 mins drive from him - I live 35-40 mins. Brother is probably laying low). Anyway, he knows my car is in the garage so I'm struggling for transport and he knows my wife works weekends so may need our other car. So I tell him I can't promise. Anyone would have thought I'd told him I'd murdered the family next door.
Apparently, I'm "letting him down" and "need to arrange something", and "wife needs to understand". Of course the standby offer of home delivery groceries is not good enough - he doesn't want to spend the £30 minimum - they have to be hand delivered by me!
I've tried setting boundaries, I've said no can do, I've tried ignoring, I've tried just not doing. Give him his due he's relentless in his quest to get me to do what he wants!
I couldn’t agree more.
"Don't tell me I'd have to wear a suit to work in the US lol." Depends on where you work. Some places still have a dress code. Most don't. Some places are more relaxed. When they "relaxed" where I was last, some people took it a little too far (gov't defense contractors, so we get a lot of visits from gov't/military people, doesn't look very "professional" to be in beach wear.) I think some people got a "talking to". Casual wear is not beach wear, esp when working and interfacing with some General!
I am not sure if it’s because I grew up in a warm climate but I hate being cold. I don’t mind visiting somewhere but I would not like living year round in the cold.
I loved seeing New England in the fall. We don’t get the fall foliage here, no changing of the leaves so that is a treat for us to see. Years ago my husband was offered a job in New England but I would never be able to handle the long winters or snow!
My daughter is different. She is hoping to move to Denver after she graduates from college in May. I love Colorado. It’s beautiful but cold!
It does boil down to what you are acclimated to, but it can change if you live long enough in another *colder* or *warmer* area. Me, I don't like being cold either, but I detest the extreme heat and humidity found elsewhere (plus the hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, mudslides, floods, etc.) I think it is easier to get warm than it is to cool down (home heat keeps us warm inside, warm clothes for the "between" spaces, aka cars and destination.) Humidity and heat, on the other hand, unless you can go half naked in those "between" spaces, ugh!
While the snow and ice are downers too, at least Wx forecasting has improved. If you know a storm is coming and need stuff, go get it, then hunker down. Driving in snow doesn't bother me, but those who don't know how to drive in snow does bother me! Ice? Na, not going out.
Yes, it is very intimidating to drive in the snow when we haven’t done so. We wouldn’t be the best drivers in the snow because it’s scary. Hahaha
True, we would need to learn to drive in it. Eh, I suppose every area has it’s attractions and drawbacks.
I went to New England in the fall to see the leaves turning. No snow! I would not know how to drive in the snow. You have long winters in New England. We have very brief winters here and honestly, they are mild. Some winters are so mild that we can buy a Christmas tree and instead of coming home to hot cocoas, we can be in a T-shirt and shorts and drink iced tea!
Our favorite bed and breakfast was in Jackson, New Hampshire. The Inn at Thorn Hill. It was at the foot of Mt. Washington. I loved it!
We did not. The inn we stayed at was at the foot of Mt. Washington. I loved all of New England.
We went to Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Oh gosh, this before we had kids. I was in my 20’s. A lifetime ago! Hahaha
It was a fun trip! The autumn colors were so beautiful.
Do you miss New Hampshire?
You're all right. I need to let him crack on with it....
It already 9 hours from London (3 hours to drive there too!) if we go direct. Sometimes, if it costs too much we fly indirect (we've done newark, atlanta, miami, philadephia, washngton, boston, charlotte in the past). Then we're looking at 13-14 hours. With a fidgeting 6 year old thats enough!
Of course, California would be 4-5 hours more?
Would love to see more of the US. We've done lots of central florida (20 times), the keys once, and we went to new york once (wifes 40th) but thats it.
85% I reckon its shirt/trousers/proper shoes then dress down friday.
Hardly anywhere expects a tie or suit. But then I'm not customer facing.....
Like I said where I am now, there is no dress code. I wear jeans/t-shirt mostly. But this is uncommon.
On the flip side, places where it doesn't generally snow much or often (my OB lives in NC), they don't have enough equipment to clear the roads, so a simple 2" can shut down everything! HAHAHAHA!
(I don't have the t-shirt, but I made it through the Blizzard of '78!)
Need: I miss my mother, who lived 3 miles from the Nashua, NH. That's why I said basically I'm from NH.
I think it would be interesting being an inn keeper. My husband would never go for it. He isn’t that type at all!
Yeah. Longer trip with the kids would be harder. The California coastline is spectacular.
Telling me hes been SOOO ILLL. Brother phoning him twice a day. (Yet Dad managed to walk to betting shop yesterday!).
Been major floods in his area. High street shops closed, GPs partially closed. He knows the GP is struggling to cope - yet he insisted they HAD to visit him. (I do wonder if it him "testing" them - he does this to me!).
Anyway, told him I'd speak to him the weekend. This latest circus can run without me in the audience.....
Betting shop? What is that? A casino?
He can’t be too sick if he can go gamble, right? So, what did he say? I am so ill but I was able to walk and gamble for awhile. How exactly does he explain that?
Do the nursing homes there take the elderly to the casinos? Here they load them up on a bus and they sit there and gamble the afternoon away. They go with walkers, canes, wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, etc.
Well, as usual, he forgot he'd admitted he'd walked there. Its half a mile across a busy road each way. So it wears a bit thin when hes telling me pretty much how hes been close to death for about a week.....
Same when he does the "2 inch walking shuffle" for my benefit taking literally a minute to cross the living room. When I know hes walked to betting shop day before - unless it did take him 5 hours each way but I doubt it!
Not so many casinos in the UK to be honest. In the big cities yes, but fairly niche. Not really something older people would do.
BUT, especially in working class areas, "betting shops" are very popular. You even sometimes get a "Betting shop" attached to a pub, so people nip in and out.
I've been to the casino at home. But that was when I used to play poker. (National Finals in Wales one year!)
We went on a cruise from Canaveral to Bahamas a few years ago and they had casino on boat. I was going to have a go. Trouble is $5 minimum bet on blackjack didnt really seem my idea of much fun lol.....
He walks a pretty good distance. He is doing fairly well then. My great aunts were like that. They walked or took public transportation nearly everywhere. They never had a weight problem. They stayed active. They lived into their late nineties.
THAT's the spirit!!! :-D
(oooh, brother is phoning him twice a day? maybe dad's found his man!!!)
Here’s the thing. When Paul’s brother gets tired of his dad’s antics then the brother starts calling Paul and lay a guilt trip on him.
Don’t get your hopes up about the brother. It’s only temporary compassion for their dad.
I too have brothers where is isn’t a lot of brotherly love coming from them.
Yes, Jackson, NH was very quaint. I don’t know that I had a favorite place that I visited in New England. It was all great but NH had my favorite inn.
We mixed it up. My husband insisted on staying at The Ritz Carlton in Boston. Lovely hotel.
This trip was when my husband did lots of international traveling with his job. The airlines were extremely competitive then and he had tons of points racked up.
So the airfare (first class) was all free. The rental car was free. The Marriott Hotels were free. We used his points. We paid for the bed and breakfast, a few other hotels and our food and drinks, etc.
Those super competitive days are long gone but most of our trips were paid for then and since he traveled internationally so much we fly first class. This was in the 80’s!
I used to be horrible at packing. My husband got tired of lugging my suitcases. His mom taught me how to pack better. I hate overpacking now. Those were my young and foolish days! I wanted to bring everything on a trip.