Beyond Thunderdome
I must confess, I find myself atypically concerned about the wellbeing of my sister and mother. You see, they’re currently traveling around New Zealand’s South Island (I just then realised that New Zealanders are no more creative than Australians when it comes to naming geographical locations) in a Maui camper, or for those poor unfortunates who have never experienced a journey over narrow, winding, hilly roads behind one of those monstrosities, an RV. That would normally not be a problem, if they had another member of our dysfunctional family along for the ride but they have my sister’s mother-in-law. I’ve never met the woman. I hear she’s very nice, though. That’s the problem.
You see, my family functions best when we have someone to pick on. We’re not cruel people, we don’t pick on the defenseless. We pick on each other. Like when my oldest brother on that side , Howling Winds from Above, turned to me at lunch one day and said, “So, Kathy,” He calls me Kathy, you see. “You’ve been in Australia for quite a while now. You must have seen a cockatoo.” If you don’t get that, say it out loud. If you still don’t get it, don’t bother reading any further. There’s nothing here for you.
His twin, Sulfurous Winds from Below, when once asked where the Matriarch was, replied, “She’s putting her make-up on. What, you can’t hear the cement mixer?”
If this isn’t the first of my posts you’ve read you’ll already be familiar with some of my interactions with the Matriarch. If not, tough because I’m not repeating myself. My sister, however, Queen Neurosis (I deserve the title more but she’s older and you can’t argue with the line of inheritence) is a sensitive soul. As sensitive as the Matriarch can be tactless. I’m concerned that the Maui camper will become Thunderdome for them. Two women enter, one woman leaves. I just can’t decide who I’d prefer to see as the winner.
Do I want a larger slice of the inheritance pie or an earlier one?
Tagged: Moral Dilemmas, Parental Trauma.