Wow.........

Well, internets, I survived.

This past weekend was full of surprises....the biggest of them likely being the NINETEEN HOUR power outage due to the winter storm on Sunday night.

That's right, peeps, I said NINETEEN HOURS.

NINETEEN HOURS of no television for the kids and no running water. Thank God my mom has a propane stove for cooking and a wood stove for heat. So honestly, it could have been worse. At least we had hot food and warm toes.

The worst part of the 19 hours was listening to my mom complain. Man, that woman sure can bitch. Repeatedly. About the same.freaking.things. Over and over and over and over and over and ........

Well. You get the point. It's my mom that likes to beat dead horses, not me. heh

In any case, up until the power outage, the visit was okay. My mom was kind and understanding about all the stress in my life lately. One thing I can say about her, she's got a fierce loyalty when it comes to her kids. To the point where I found myself actually defending my ex against her, much to her disgust. I mean, hell. I may not want to be married to the guy, but I don't think he's an evil bastard, either. Ah well....her heart is in the right place, I guess.

Some positives from the weekend:

- I was well-fed all weekend. One thing I can say about my mom, and that's that she likes to make sure her houseguests are well fed. And well fed I was.

- Mom let me suck pillow in bed for an extra hour every morning while she gave the girls breakfast and kept them amused. Nice!

- I had my iPod with me and was able to listen to some tunes every night as I fell asleep. YAY!

- One of my sisters presented me with, hands down, the best Christmas gift I will get this year. A Kermit doll exactly like the one I had as a kid. I don't think she has any idea how much Kermit means to me...I actually got a little weepy. It was particularly touching coming from this sister, since she and I aren't all that close. I felt like, if even just a little bit, maybe she "gets" me after all.

- I got to meet my great-nephew, Parker, and have a bit of a "baby fix". I may be done having children of my own, but I am one of those women who immediately craves being drooled on as soon as I get in a 10-foot radius of a baby. I got several huge, gummy grins from him too. I instantly fell in love. And yes, I may have sniffed him once or twice. But that's all I'm gonna say.

- I was able to stand up for myself. When my mother started in on me a little too hard last night (while the power was still out), I just went to bed. I decided that it wasn't worth it to try and prove anything to her, and so, I just shut her out. Goodnight, mom! Sit and stew by yourself. I'm not going to let you wear me down.

Yeah, there were negatives, too. Like the already mentioned incessant bitching from my mother, about everything from postal workers to the power company to the snow, to various family members. Ugh! That woman oozes negativity. No wonder I am the way I am, really. For the most part, I did my best to just let her attitude slide off me. There's no point in trying to change her - I don't think it's going to happen. I can't control how she chooses to behave, either. The only thing that I can control is my own behaviour, and how I allow her to affect me.

It's funny, that's a lesson that the universe seems to really want to drive home with me lately. The good news is, it's working....and today I'm just in the right frame of mind to be grateful for that.