Having a Bird!

Tension. Yuk, right? Selfishly justified when it is of my own unraveling, but extremely sticky when its right of passage belongs to another. Where to tread, when to speak, when to avoid and when to confront. Every family has it. Though this time, it is not within my immediate family's midst. (I know, I know - hard to believe? I'll wait for you to get back on your chair...)

Andy's extended family is having a "time". Who said what, who didn't say enough, who didn't help enough and who cared too much. BLAH.

But not blah.

So understandable yet so senseless.

Those of you with Scandinavian blood know that the best method to resolving tension is resolving nothing at all. Smile, pass the salt when asked and ignore any possibility of a confrontation. Let your tension fester and build new judgments upon a foundation of unresolved differences.

My mom's Scottish and my dad Irish. I don't get it at all. Duke it out already! Get it off your chest and in doing so, rid yourself of the drippy chip on your shoulder. Then go and have a pint.

The current position that others' tension has us in is no plans for Thanksgiving. Don't misunderstand, there are plenty of places to go, but we find ourselves so very tense about arriving at the wrong destination we're paralyzed.

As persistent as one can be screeching her nails on a chalkboard, I am doing my best to conclude the drama of no particular Thanksgiving destination. Mind you, one of those destinations is MY HOUSE. One week from Thanksgiving and I'm not quite sure if I'm hosting it or not.

I ask you - what would Martha do?