It is possible that pointing and laughing are part of your wifely duties. Depending.

They are a LARGE part of my wifely duties! I think we left that out of the wedding vows, but it was implied.

I can say my feeling toward sleep studies is they are NBD.

Oh, yes. Compared with the not-knowing what his lung function test results mean, I'm not worried about the sleep study, as much as it's just One. More. Thing, you know?

The pile-on of this year is just crushing me, is all. We've all kind of dropped the ball on moving forward with getting Tim's dad into assisted living or getting home care arranged so he can stay in his home.

Tim grocery shops for his dad once a week, because his dad doesn't drive any more. And he's been doing this for maybe 2 years (or closer to 3, I think). And it takes up an entire weeknight evening, once a week, because his dad lives 25-30 minutes away, and then we have to get his grocery list (which sometimes means getting him to get out of his chair and MAKE a grocery list), then go to the store (10 minutes away), shop, bring the groceries home, put them away, and try to get home before 11:00.

I don't always go with Tim, but when I do, it's an utter grind. And at this specific moment in time, with everything else that's on Tim's plate health-wise, the weekly grocery shopping is REALLY taking a toll on him.

The store by his dad does have the service where you order your groceries online, pay online, and then go pick up the groceries at an allotted day/time. I told Tim that, at the VERY LEAST, we need to start doing that, because it will knock 60-90 minutes off the trip. But I also said that I think Oldest Brother (who lives 10 minutes away from their dad) should alternate with him, so they only have to do it every other week.

(There's a longer explanation, but I want to be clear that Oldest Brother has been shouldering A LOT of the work with their dad, "emergencies" like "my TV isn't working," and "I need someone to drive me to the barber". So this is 100% NOT about Oldest Brother not shouldering the work. But his circumstances have changed such that he's not available for these "emergencies" any more, and I feel like, at least until Tim's health is sorted out, Oldest Brother could run and pick up Jack's groceries twice a month. Because with the online ordering, that is literally what he would be doing -- pull up to the pickup area and let someone load bags into his car.)

Frankly, I told Tim that if he won't appeal to Oldest Brother (you have to understand that these guy do NOT talk to each other about what's going on in their lives, so his bros don't know as much as about his health as YOU guys do), then *I* will make my schedule work so that *I* can go pick up the groceries twice a week. Because he needs a goddamn break, and he feels like he's not entitled to one even though he's having health issues. (I did tell him I was 100% willing to go behind his back and email his bros and tell them what's going on. And he said, "Well, it's not behind my back ANYMORE, is it?")

I think there's a family Labor Day shindig at their dad's, and step 1 is that we have to set up the online grocery ordering. (And oh, you'd better BELIEVE I'm going to make it happen. I may be a crap wife in other ways, but Tim's well-being is my top priority, and I will do whatever I have to to ensure that he gets a fucking break for a little while.) And after that, we'll figure out who picks it up and drops it off, and when, etc.

This fucking year. I'm just worn out from worrying because I can't fix things and I can't just make things happen.

All the figuring and planning and trying and negotiating is exhausting.

All the figuring and planning and trying and negotiating is exhausting.

It really is. And Tim's dad -- who, I 100% understand, has memory issues and therefore has a really hard time with change -- is going to push back on ordering his groceries online (although we'll set it up so that we [bros and SiLs] do it, and his dad doesn't have to concern himself with it [he buys literally the same things every week, so that's no problem]). And when his dad pushes back, Tim is going to say, oh, I've been getting his groceries for 3 years, I can keep doing it.

You guys, we genuinely don't fight. Sometimes we grumble at each other, but not actually fight. I think this is going to lead to a fight. Because he needs a fucking break and keeps throwing out excuses as to why no one but him should do it. (And that is why, if it comes down to it, I will do an end run around him and do it myself on Wednesdays [usually my slow work day].)

TCG did a sleep study a while back. It was no big deal, but I worried anyway.

ltc has decided she is done with afternoon naps. Mama wants her afternoon nap.

My grandmother was the queen of inflexible. She had to be driven to visit my grandfather every day in the nursing home. Taxis were not acceptable. Moving into an apartment in the same facility was not acceptable. Grocery shopping had to be done, the same products every time. No deviation.

This fucking year. I'm just worn out from worrying because I can't fix things and I can't just make things happen.

As others have said to me, it hurts to see other people learning this frustration.

I'm sorry you've had such a crappy year, Teppy. The situation with your father-in-law sounds very frustrating. Tim is lucky to have you.

ltc finally gave in and went to sleep. I did not nap but instead made 4 onerous phone calls, and as I was typing this someone finally got back to me about serving wine and beer on Sunday! Yay, because otherwise I was going to have to buy a flask to smuggle in.

Grocery shopping had to be done, the same products every time. No deviation.

I'm okay with no deviation; I just think if the 21st-century glory of ordering online and paying a fee to let some golden god pick your groceries for you, bag them, and load them into your car, well, that's something we should take advantage of. It will lighten the load just a bit.

(I promise you this: it WILL happen. We [bros and SiLs] just need to discuss it. In fact, Jack doesn't need to be a part of the discussion, because he doesn't even go to the grocery store himself any more with Tim, and he hasn't for over a year. So he wouldn't know if we shopped or if we just let some nice Kroger employee load pre-selected bags into our trunk.)

This fucking year. I'm just worn out from worrying because I can't fix things and I can't just make things happen.

As others have said to me, it hurts to see other people learning this frustration.

Oh, it's always been one of my greatest frustrations (my Theory of Mind is also kind of crappy for an adult, so that doesn't help) -- I'm practical and wish I could just FIX things, with my own hands. But I can't, and that frustrates me.

It's just that this year is a concentrated stream of Ha Ha Here Is More Shit You Can't Fix But Can Only Endure Enjoy 2016 Sucker. It's annoying when it's just one particular circumstance I can't fix, but it's basically impossible for me to cope when it's one fucking thing after another.

I'm sorry, Tep. I would really like the universe to cut you some slack.