Family - Past, present, and future

I've been catching up on some of the genealogy that I had so dreadfully neglected. I just had so much stuff to do that I felt like I was getting nothing done! I got about 3 more pages of names entered into FAG tonight and I've gotten about 60 names entered into the Nebraska Graves Project. Now I feel like I've accomplished something at least, even if I'm far from done.

Steve went to Whole Foods Market tonight and brought back some Diana's Bananas - for those of you who aren't familiar with Diana's Bananas - they're the most tasty bananas ever, dipped in chocolate and then frozen on a stick. I love the dark chocolate ones, but you can get milk chocolate and then they're rolled in nuts. Yummy, yummy, yummy! Ol' Steve scored some points tonight! LOL

Tony leaves for Cuba tomorrow night. I can't go to the airport. I'd be a blubbering mess. It's hard to say goodbye and know that in the next year he'll only be home one time. Heck I even cried when I'd put my kids on the plane to Phoenix to go visit my dad for 2 weeks. Can't do it. Besides, I have to work. That's a good excuse, right. I'm gonna miss that stinker though. I hope he manages to stay safe.

Miss got an email from mom this week, after she sent her one first ragging on her about not even sending Tony and Candace a card or anything when Ryan was born or for Tony and Candace's marriage. My mom is like that. I haven't gotten a birthday card for years - and the last Christmas present I got was a picture of her and her husband. Well, it has a nice frame! LOL. She totally avoids Matt like the plague too. She hasn't had anything to do with him since he was in grade school. Although she talks to AJ every week and Amber occasionally. I can remember her saying, "I hope if I play favorites with my grandkids like mom (my dad's mom) does, I hope somebody kicks me square in the ass." Bend over mama! Hahaha! She's so much worse than grandma it's unbelievable. She ran into Matt and his dad at a Village Inn one weekend and asked Matt how long he'd worn glasses - uh 5 years! Guess she's going to miss out on that grandmother of the year award too! lol. She told Missy to tell Tony to take care and be safe while he was gone. Missy told her to tell him herself, and then gave her Tony's cell number. I'll be damned, but she called. Tony wasn't too thrilled. He's heard the old "I have a card for your birthday, I just need a stamp to mail it" for the last 11 years. He didn't have too m much to say to her. Can't say as I blame him.

There was something in the paper today about daughter with aging parents who had basically treated her and her family like dirt while they were younger, but now they expect her to help them out in their old age. The columnist said she probably should bury the hatchet and help them be comfortable in their elderly years. BS - Let them fend for themselves, just like they let their kids fend for themselves in their younger days. I wouldn't do anything for my mom. No matter what I do for that woman it's never right anyway, I'm just saving us both the aggravation. Besides she likes her husband's kids better anyway. Not that the affection is reciprocated, no matter what she thinks.

Oh well, so we send Tony off to Cuba. I'm crying just thinking about it. Love ya, Toner!

And now for something good...

If you haven't had any Bing cherries this summer - GO GET SOME NOW! They're the best I've eaten in years, so big and sweet. Yum! I'm loving them. The peaches also seem to be particularly good this year. Although since I had my gallbladder out for some reason peaches and I don't always get along very well. It's worth the discomfort though this year, they are good! I might have to get some and make Steve a peach pie, that's his favorite.

Ding Dong the witch is dead...

I know, I know, it's horrible to speak ill of the dead, but one of my old bosses with the city died over the weekend. That woman was evil incarnate, I swear. She worked for the city for over 50 years and I have to wonder how many people she drove either insane or out of work. I got the clue when I did my interview with her that she wasn't all that great. She asked a lot of personal questions, that she admitted she shouldn't ask, but she said her office was like "one big family", that's why she wanted to know. Then when she offered me the job I turned her down and said I didn't want it, I'd prefer to say where I was. (If you take a test for city employment - including the promotional tests, if you turn down 2 interviews you're taken off the list for consideration, which was the only reason I had gone to the interview in the first place.) She told me I'd start the following Monday. When I told her Monday was my birthday she said, "Then you'll start a week from Monday. Let the police budget pay for your birthday". Ah, yes, she was a charmer. I called her twice in the next week telling her I didn't want the job, and I'm not sure how she did it, but I ended up there the Monday after my birthday. She had the reputation of being someone of a B***** to work for, but really, I'd never had a problem getting along with anyone before. (And didn't again until I started working with the sloth woman). Everything was fine until she found out my husband and gotten laid off and I was the sole breadwinner. Things went from fine to absolute hell in a matter of days. She knew I couldn't quit because we needed my income. She swore at people, threw things at people, insulted people based on their ethnicity. Oh my heck, she was the most horrible person to work for. I tried to transfer back to the police department, but every time I had an interview and a date to go back to the police, they'd call and tell me they'd hired someone else. Finally, someone told me this woman had called and told them I wasn't going back. Period. I went to personnel, everything I could think of, but just couldn't get away from this lady. I tell you as soon as Steve got a job, I was out of there! That wasn't a decision I made lightly either, I had quite a long time in with the lost great benefits and a great pension plan, but I couldn't take her anymore. The last straw really was when we were in a staff meeting and she asked me when I was going back to the police department. Then she sat there and sneered at me knowing darn well I couldn't go anywhere without her okay. I told her I guess whenever they had an opening. She shook her cigarette at me and yelled, I mean yelled, "You're not going back to the police department, you're too f****ing stupid. They don't want you back!" (For a minute there I thought I had moved back home, sounded like my mother all over again.) I tell you, it was all I could do to not hurl myself across her desk and smack the crap out of her! I went to my union to file a grievance and they wouldn't let me. Told me that was just the way she was and I'd have to file a civil suit against her if I wanted to take any action. Who do you think was really running city hall? The Mayor? Haha! Plus she rode those poor city councilmen like they were cattle. After I left I used to have dreams that I'd see her crossing the street and I'd run over her with my car. I always felt so much better after I'd wake up. I notice in the paper they didn't print the cemetery where she's being interred, probably be too many people dancing on her grave.

Know what's really funny? I did go back to the police department! Ha ha! And some of the people I had interviewed with to come back told me they were sorry they couldn't get me back before, but she just wouldn't let me out of the office.

She must have been a miserable person to have to be so rotten to everyone. I kind of feel sorry for her, really, I do, but she was just evil. I figured she'd never die because she sure wasn't going to heaven and the devil didn't need the competition. Even though I haven't seen her in years, just learning she was gone felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Seriously.