I returned from a long weekend in the Schuylkill County of Pennsylvania on Monday. A friend has a camp in Pine Grove; which is about halfway (and a bit north) between Harrisburg and Allentown. I've been doing this Memorial Day getaway for a few years now. Some of them have been absolutely resting. Some of them not so much. This was halfway between those two.

The long weekend always includes my husband, his parents, and a few friends. The most constant might be my friend Janice. We tend to have fun because we create it. Truth is, there is nothing to do here. We barely get cell service. TV reception is close to nil. And there is way too much nature... at least for me. We do get to grill a ton of food. We do get to read as much as we want. We do get to do nothing. And boy do we eat. We eat like mad. I've taken to going on long walks through the campground just to burn some calories.

Anyhoo. This weekend, I came away with a few revelations. First, Janice is a godsend. Thanks for distracting my "in-laws" from my moods. They love you. If they were not paying attention to you, they would be getting on my last nerve. Thankfully, they just got on one of my nerves.

Second, my "in-laws" are getting crazier. I love them. But sometimes I need a break from them. I think I have spent a big amount of time with them in the past two years. More than I really want to. I have one more event with them this Summer. And I think that may be it until the Holidays. Which is going to be interesting since I will be announcing my refusal to celebrate them. Boy, will that be a hoot. And when I say the "in-laws", I don't just mean the parents.

Third, Mike's niece and her fiance are just too young to be married. They spent the weekend with us. They are just so young. I believe 22 and 23. I think that is too young to be married. Mike said that was me judging. I said that that was what I did best. But c'mon. What the hell do you know at 22 or 23? What the fuck did I know at 22 or 23? It was hard for me to socialize with them. Mostly because I was trying to use the weekend as a way to decompress. But partially because I just found both of them young, naive, and intolerable. When you get excited over someone making cole slaw, you don't know shit.

Fourth, my "in-laws" are getting crazier. But I told you that already.

Fifth, if it weren't for my husband, Mike, I'm not sure where I would be. We are two peas in a pod. We really just fit. Even when we don't feel like being around others, we cannot be away from each other. I don't know if that fully describes us. I have a hard time putting words down to do so. The support that we give each other is just invaluable.

Lastly, I never want to be considered crazy by anyone. I asked Mike to promise me that we would never bicker like his parents. You see, my parents don't bicker. They disagree about things but if they ever need to get something done, they would never ask the other person to do it if they did not think that the results would be what they wanted. Does that make sense? I never ask Mike to do the laundry because he does not bother separating. And after some color mishaps and poor folding habits, I decided that I would do laundry always. Get it? Crazy is asking someone to do something you know they are going to mess up THEN getting mad at them for doing so. After years of being together, don't you just know not to?

Mike did promise me that we would never bicker like his parents. I don't know how true that will be. But if we are halfway (and a bit north) between our parents. Things should be fine. Later.  ¶ 11:02 PM