My brother, sister, and I are on the same page about one thing, at least--we realllllly hope our dad kicks it before our mom does. Because if he's first, SHE can deal with all the ridiculous crap he's collected (he's a stamp collector, so it's not stuff we can just throw away, but it's not stuff we really want to spend time going through either). If she goes first, he's going to hole up in the house and it'll be piles and stacks and those scary things you see on TV...

Yeah, the unspoken in our family is similar (see how I didn't say it?) It's not the stuff in our case, it's the personality, sort of. He'll be harder. Mom'd move in and find her own place. Dad, nsm. And if his decline is slow, he'll resent it. He really wants to go off a cliff. And I say that only half-humorously.

I figure my sister will kill my parents within short order (they're both retired, and she's living at home) so I won't have to deal with the otherwise inevitable...I mean...I don't live in the same country! What do I do? That's fair, I mean?

Vegetables are roasting. They smell quite tasty so far.

Watching an episode of Mission: Impossible where one of the team is mistakenly kidnapped to be exchanged for three bad guys. The response of the team under the guise of the US military? "We're charging these three bad guys we already have here as accessories to the kidnapping, finding them guilty, and assassinating them in the morning. Booyah."

I know I'll pose The Question to them this sunday (hell, were it not for the early meeting, I'd call them now.) Because the program freaked me out. Because I can't do what the one person did that I'd want to do. I simply don't have those financial resources.

Whether I'll get an answer is another thing entirely. It'll take time. And I hope we'll have enough time.

On the way home, I got stuck behind an SUV that had a huge decal on the back window that said "in Loving memory of Tim Gxxx 11/3/1983 to 6/5/1984."

Is that really weird to anyone else?

Yeah, that seems weird.

I can't think about my parents anymore. Bad enough my grandmother's going to die.

Yes, Perkins. I get really weirded out when cars are used to announce things that I assume are deeply personal.

I'm not having the talk this weekend with my parents because my mother and sister aren't talking, and everyone in the family is all het up about my medical straits anyway.

I know I'll pose The Question to them this sunday

Which question is that?

ita, how are you feeling regarding the diet mods?

I lost all my grandparents by 20. Hell, I'd lost 3/4 of them by '91, when I was 16. I saw the body of my paternal grandfather carried out at 11 and oooh boy that had repercussions I didn't expect (I'd have sleepovers where I'd wake up sobbing inconsolably for reasons I couldn't identify and mom had to come get me. And if I don't tell those I love that I love them before I end the conversation? It upsets me and wakes me up.)

Watching the discussion post-program has only made me want The Conversation more. As much as I'd rather it moot.