Riding the Crazy Train

"Crazy" doesn't even begin to describe my world of late...

Well, my daughter wrecked her car today. She wasn't hurt--but she could easily have been killed. She was on I10 leaving Lafayette to go back to Baton Rouge in a heavy downpour when her Firebird hydroplaned and she spun in front of an 18 wheeler. Luckily, it hit the rear passenger side of her car and not the driver's side, or the outcome would have been completely different. The car is, of course, a total loss. Damn. She's going to be on foot for awhile, because we only carried liability on that vehicle. I'm glad her new apartment is walking distance from campus! She can learn to use public transportation for awhile now, I guess.

The explosion I've been expecting finally happened Friday night. This week, my sister-in law--who you will recall is an alcoholic--and her pill-and-meth-dealing-live-in-ex-husband finally packed up their stuff and moved their travel trailer to a mobile home park. Then, Friday evening, they came to get her son, supposedly so he could spend the weekend with them. (In a tiny travel trailer parked at a mobile home park!) My in-laws said absolutely not, and so Friday night we had three City Police officers here, explaining why we had to let my nephew go with his mother, even though technically his dad (who is working in Mississippi) still has custody and didn't want she and her aforementioned ex to leave with him. Well, he wasn't here, he was visiting his other grandparents. So, off they all went. He flatly refused to go with his mom, and told the cops that if they made him go he would run away the first chance he got. So the police persuaded my sister-in-law to let him have Friday night with his (other) grandparents, and they could pick him up Saturday morning.

Long story short...a late-night visit to an attorney, and some early Saturday morning maneuvering by the judge resulted in my in-laws now having immediate temporary custody. Sister-in-law was quite furious and wants to come get all her stuff, but the attorney advised us to have her wait until Monday morning and then be accompanied by a police officer *just in case*. Whew! Helluva weekend. But at least the pressure is coming down now. I was beginning to have some real intense anxiety about how their f***ed-up lifestyle (pardon my language) was going to affect hubby's recovery and sobriety. He was stressed, and I could tell, which made my stress even stressier. If this hadn't all gone down, I think he would have been very close to using again.

I was off all last week, though! We all went to Houston to visit my dad and brother, and on the last night there we got to see Rush in concert. It was great.

So, anyway, it's never a dull moment in my dysfunctional world. But I have to go back to work Monday--bummer. Maybe the little men in white coats will come for me first...

Arrivederci!

When Your Worst Nightmare Comes True...

So, what do you do when your WORST NIGHTMARE comes true? Suggestions are welcome!

I knew this was a possibility, I wrote about it months ago. My sister-in-law, her nephew, and her ex-husband have come to live with us. Remember now, I live with my husband's parents. There are now 7 people in the house and, when my daughter comes home, eight. It's a three-bedroom house. "Crowded" doesn't even begin to describe the situation. She is still unemployed, and seems content that way, but at least she seems relatively sober. Her (disabled) ex-husband stays fairly strung out on painkillers, but he did have a catastrophic accident a few years ago that may still result in his losing a leg. I suspect that they also dabble a bit in methamphetamine--I have done that and more in the past, and can pretty well identify the signs.

I hope (and PRAY) that their being here doesn't derail my husband's recovery and his goals of getting his college education. I know he suspects that they are using, and as a recovering addict, that has GOT to be one of the hardest things ever to endure.

God help us all. Please pray for us...
Arrivederci