A lot has happened since I last posted….I have been to dinner with my parents once, my father alone once, and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them. Today, I am having lunch with my grandparents and parents at Mimi’s Cafe. I’m not sure what to expect. Dinner with my two parents was not one of my favorite nights. My car was not working, so I was relying on people to take me to work and back home. I asked my mother to pick me up after the performance of A Christmas Carol. She was waiting in the parking lot for me. She started crying when she saw me, telling me how grown up and professional I looked, and that she had promised herself not to cry. The ride to Denny’s (all that was open at that time of night) was enjoyable…almost like old times…just catching up on whats been happening in each others lives. She gave me a massaging-vibrating pen, a black slip for under dresses, and some antibiotics for my cough, which I still have. We got there, and my dad got out and hugged me hello, and we walked inside. My mother tried keeping the mood light, but my father cut to the chase. I then spent the entire meal crying. I didn’t eat much. Basically, it was a huge guilt trip. The way I left was wrong. Telling me how much I’d hurt my mom, and him. He found out I was paying for rent, and he acted almost angry and disappointed. When we stepped outside after we finished dinner, he broke down crying, saying that I didnt have to pay to live, and to please come home. A few days later, he texted me to invite me to dinner with him and mom. He was the only one who showed up. I was really scared it would turn into Denny’s again. He was pleasant the whole evening, giving me the “you need to go back to college” talk. He dropped me off at home, and that was it. No big fallout. It made me feel a little bit more at ease. My uncle was able to fix my car’s hood, which wasn’t working. He was able to jerry-rig it. It now opens, and turns out why my car wasn’t working is I had no coolant. I’m leaking *something*, though what I’m leaking is uncertain. I also spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents. Before I went home, I went to my grandparents house. Only grandma was home, but walked in the backdoor, and she almost started crying. I handed her her and papa’s presents, and she opened hers right then, a rose necklace. It got us on the subject of possibly piercing her ears, and how irritating the clip on earrings were. Papa came home, and hugged me, and we talked small talk for a while. Then, I had to leave, as I was going to a movie with my parents. I got home, and we left to go see True Grit. I didn’t much like it. Little Blackie getting shot at the end disturbed me. We came home, and ate tamales, nachos, guacamole, and jalapeño poppers, and watched the winner of the Ovation series Battle of the Nutcracker. The British Royal Ballet won. It was very traditional, kind of a so-so performance in my opinion. Lauren and I opened our one present. Lauren received her red Wii. We played Wii sports all night after that. Afterwards, Lauren and I went through my room and our bathroom to get the rest of my things that I wanted, then went to sleep. Lauren woke me up in the morning, the traditional pushing the door open and a nice irritated “Wake up!” It made me smile. I missed that. We opened presents, and I got clothes, makeup, and a ton of money in gift cards. Afterwards, Daddy took me out to the ranch. As soon as we dropped Lauren off at grandmas, he said “Well Ash, you knew I’d talk to you sooner or later, so here goes.” No, Dad, I thought you were done to be perfectly honest…. He confessed to me that he thought he was doing what he thought was right as a father, and that was to work and provide for the family. He begged me to come home, so that I could give him a chance to be a father again, and let him do it the right way. He broke down crying again as he was saying this, which made me cry. We got to the ranch, and the horses made me feel better. They always do. Especially Desert Wind…she has a way about her that is always loving, and she seems to know when I am sad or upset. After that, we went home, then to grandmas to make her jalapeño poppers. After the poppers were made, I went back home and helped Dad make Christmas lunch. We had a rack of beef, a rack of ribs, a smoked ham, the poppers, olives, salad, bread, and a blackberry pie for dessert. Afterwards we called grandma in Oklahoma, who was upset I hadn’t called her first. We talked for quite some time, and I plan on calling her again today. After, I went to grandmas to visit with the family. My aunt and I had a really nice talk, but the other aunt and uncle gave me the cold shoulder. Thats okay. I have nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of. They can judge me all they want. I’ll make it through. Afterwards, I took Lauren to see Tron after we played the Jeep Wii game. I really liked Tron, and I plan on taking her to see it in D Box this tuesday possibly. We want to go to Disneyland sometimes soon together. Today I’m going down to see my cousin, and lunch with grandma at Mimi’s is soon. Tomorrow is a photoshoot. I’m looking forward to it. Regards. ~Rose~
Christmas with the family….
