Family Ties

Everyone loves the bunch of nuts on their family tree.

This past weekend Tee and I went to St. Louis for a hockey game. We stayed with his cousin and I was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect.  I'm really not sure what I was so worried about, it was a lot of fun. Tee and I did some stuff just the two of us, and we also spent a good amount of time hanging out with the others. It's only been more and more family since then.



A while back, (a couple years, I think) Tee's dad had a nasty type of kidney cancer. It doesn't respond to chemo or radiation, and basically the only option was to take the kidney out. He was doing really well, but at his last check they found a couple spots on his lung. Last week he went in for a biopsy and it's cancer again. So I've become kind of protective of Tee and his family. It drives me nuts that there's nothing I can do to help. There's a drug that they're going to try, but it's going to be a rough road. I know I said I wanted something to make me more sensitive and sympathetic to him, but this isn't what I meant. And now I'm stuck. I'm sure I'm driving him crazy being all concerned and hovery. Seriously. Google or Chrome or the internet or whatever it is that controls the words and spells on here REALLY needs to expand their horizons.

I was afraid to see him as I didn't know how he'd respond to this whole situation and everything. I tried to keep us kind of busy this weekend. On Friday we went out to eat with my sister and were out for a few hours. When we were in DC, we got a puzzle to put up on his wall, like an old world map, and we started that after dinner. Here are my mad puzzle skillz:

You may not think it looks like much, but you're wrong. And rude. Just sit there in your wrongness and rudeness. 

We (well, mostly me) worked on the puzzle for quite a while on Saturday too. We came back and he went to see his family, and I went home. I wasn't sure if I should offer or insist on going to support him; I tried to just make it clear that I would be happy to do whatever he needed.  Saturday night, we went out to a brewery with his brother. It turned out nicely because a friend of mine was playing that night, so there were a few people I knew. 

Sunday, I helped make some wedding favors while he stayed and hung out with my parents. I think he watched sports the whole time. Not sad I missed that. 

I was talking to a friend about relationships today and I had a revelation: Tee is like a dog and I'm like a cat. So, you know, it's not impossible, but it's a struggle. So sometimes it's like this:

   And other times it's this: 

Sad, but true. I even told a coworker about this and she gasped and said, "Oh you are like a cat, Laura!" I'm sure there's a way to get past this. Or not. As a cat trapped in a human body, I'm indifferent. I'll care when there are treats involved.