2003-01-17 - 2:05 p.m.

Brave new world

Little sis has a computer!!!! I am so excited!! Now we can email back and forth and send pictures. It is bigger than mine and she may even have a CD burner with it so I may have to send Mom's pictures back to her and have her do the copy stuff. I have had good intentions for 7 years now, but haven't gotten the job done.

I keep waiting for something--bigger computer, better scanner, CD burner, MORE TIME. Those are just the excuses of a lazy person. A friend of BIL is shutting down his office and has a laptop and PC at home so they are using one he had until they decide what they want to get. It sounds like a permanent loan. He said not to ge any other stuff for a while until he decides what he is not going to take home with him. They are hooking up to the internet today so maybe she and I shall be emailing soon. I shall teach her all my bad habits. That is what big sisters are for.

She is a very sad lady sometimes. Only one son and she was the disciplinarian in the family and often felt like an outsider. But having a good relationship with his dad is what made Nephew a good man so she didn't lose out completely. She often feels like she has lost her son since his wife wants to live Alaska where she was raised even if it is a few hundred miles from her parents. Wifey makes his big pet dog stay in the garage while her cat is in the house and other little bits of info makes sis feel her boy is "-----". She used a very graphic expression and then apologised profusely because she couldn't think of any other word to describe it. I told her that is the exact expression that is used around my house for the condition and talked to her for a while about marital positioning. She hadn't ever thought of that subject and after we had talked, she felt better.

I have noticed that very few marriages are equal. One gender or the other is the dominant partner. The non-dominant one is usually the more laid-back partner who has the capacity to find happiness wherever they are. The dominant one is often the type A who must micro-manage to be happy and even then is not satisfied. Gender does not seem to enter in so much as personality. As I reminded her of some of the personality traits in our genetic heritage, she could see where I was coming from. Having only one child, she put all her eggs in one basket! I often have a far away child, and not always the some one. One just goes on, circustances change, and relationships improve. Of course, having 5 is good insurance that usually at least one is talking to you at any one time! Having daughters is also a good way for me to avoid loneliness. A daughter's a daughter all of her life; a son's a son til he takes a wife.

I have also noticed a tendency for new brides to try to alienate their inlaws, not always consciously. I think that is an attempt to create a new family unit and is a good thing if not carried to extremes. Maybe new grooms do the same thing. Anyway the 13th chapter of I Corinthians has a lot to say on how to deal with these issues. Love forbears all things, buries in silence.

That is such a vivid description to me. Of course, I am the Avoidance Queen.

EE's devotional

newAutumn Leaves

previous - next