The Soaps Have Nothing On This Family.....

For years I have griped and complained about Todd's family and how not to follow in their footsteps. Only to sit back and hope my children listened.

Todd's family isn't your normal everyday run-of-the-mill family. It's Dysfunction Junction at its best. I know when you marry into another family, they do things differently and you have some level of adjusting to them, but not in this family. There is no getting used to them.

For one, they never do things the same way twice. Well, except holidays. You can bet that his father is there with a plate well before the food's even done cooking. And you can bet there will be people eating in the living room, bedrooms, outside, hallway...anywhere they can find a spot. Outside seems to be the hotspot, even in November (in the rain) because at least there's a table to set your food on.

But at least you kind of know what to expect when you go there for holidays. That was until Easter.

Todd's mother passed away in May of 2003 from cancer. It was a shock because she was dx with stage 4 lung cancer just a few weeks before and had never smoked a day in her life. Even with all her quirkiness, I miss her to death. Father-in-law was already trying to hook up with a woman, at a bar, within two months of losing her.

I took great offense at this. I felt it was inappropiate for him to be acting like a giddy school boy in a bar so soon after his wife fell sick and died. Maybe that's just me. I thought she deserved a little more respect than to already be at the bars trying to pick up women within 60 days of her death. Mind you, that was 60 days when I found out. It was even earlier than that.

I know there are men out there who can't stand to be "alone". He needed someone to be his "mommy". He's such a baby. His actual comment at the funeral, after we pried him off the casket, was "Who'll cook my food and wash my clothes?"

HUH?? WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?? I about knocked him out. That's all she was to him? Well then, thank the good Lord he spared her. She was a person, not his personal slave. He had stripped her of her independence. She didn't drive so she relied on him to get her where she needed to go, unless it was in town. Then she would walk. Regardless of the weather. She used to work when they first married, but soon after she quit and became a SAHM. Per his request. Her new job was to be there to crank out babies for him and to take care of his house. Sad.

This brings me to the current ordeal. He has met a lady from SC who visited his church a few times last Winter and they became pen pals. At Easter he gathered us in the kitchen and told us about his pen pal so if we 'saw a strange letters lying around with her name on them, that's the reason'...whatever.

Fast forward two months.

We were gone to a soccer tourney and came home to a message left on our machine that said, and I quote, "Well, hellllllooooo there Todd and Kara, this is your Dad. Hey, I just wanted to let you know there's going to be a weddin' next spring. Uh huh. yep...well, okay then. Talk to you later. Bye."

What the Hell??!!

Now, he's moved this woman in with him and of course, she's making it hers. She's civil to the rest of the family, but to the oldest daughter and oldest son, she's super sweet. She's buying them gifts all the time but yet barely looks at the rest of the family. See, they're the ones in charge of the will, etc...

Her agenda?? I believe she's a gold digger. Thinking since he's recently widowed he'll have insurance money. She's been married twice before. One died and the other, I'm not sure about. Also, there was talk about a $1.2 mil lawsuit he would be entitled to if he chose to pursue it. That alone could hook a harpie in a minute.

It really made me mad when Todd's oldest sister asked him if he loved her or if he was just lonely and he replied, "Oh yes! She's the woman I've always wanted" Lucky for him, I was not the one he said that to. I would've said something I could've never taken back. How could he say something like that when he had turned a perfectly functional young woman into his personal slave who obeyed his every wish? I don't get it. His mother was a saint for putting up with his crap for 35 years. I sure wouldn't have.

Now, he has asked my children and Todd to be in the wedding and they have all said, and rather bluntly, "NO". God Love Them All. I think his mom smiled down on them that day from Heaven.




There's more to come on this topic...as his family is always giving me something to write about. I will try and touch briefly on their background as it pertains to the current story. There's just too much to sit down and try to write from the beginning. So bear with me. You'll soon have a good idea of what the past 11.5 years have been like. I'm sure of that.