Relative Rivalry

I thought my own family was a little nuts.

That was before I met the Soderstrom family. For people who manage to seem normal to the rest of the world, there’s a whole lot going on under the surface.

A whole lot of scheming, that is.

Brett and I have decided not to participate in any of it.

We went up to Geneva this past Saturday. Brett had decided to help his dad with some yard clean-up. Then, our delightful sister-in-law Sally (The Hostess with the Mostest) invited us to come on over afterward and have dinner and game night with their family.

When we showed up at Brett’s dad’s house, his brother Dave was there with his three children. As I wrote (in minute detail) earlier, Dave and his wife have decided to (just arbitrarily) not like us anymore. They’ve also stooped to spreading ridiculous lies about things we’ve apparently said. None of it is true.

I used to think that Brett’s sister Lisa was exaggerating when she said that Dawn painted her to be manipulative and mean to the rest of the family. Since then, I’ve found myself wondering if it is just that Dave and Dawn like to “start” things.

You know, how some people are never happy unless they are fighting with other people? Well, I think they may be like that.

Back to Saturday – Dave ignored us, and we were just ourselves. We’ve decided that they can’t fight with people who don’t care.

However, I did start crying like crazy when Brett and I were going through some of his mom’s things. I loved her so much and there are times I can’t believe she’s gone.

Poor Brett’s dad. The Soderstroms do not show emotion, nor do they talk about their feelings. And here he was, stuck with a Rehfeldt-Trotter who lives to “get it out” and express her feelings.

Poor guy – I was an emotional train wreck. Just coming off Dave and Dawn’s rejection and then diving into grief over missing my mother-in-law.

I eventually stopped crying, before we got over to Bill and Sally’s. Thankfully, their friendship and fellowship saved the weekend for me. Brett and I decided not to bring any of D&D’s negativity into Bill and Sally’s. I’m sure they don’t want to be in the middle, anymore than we would if the situation were reversed.

Anyway, Sally made delicious appetizers, along with sweet and sour meatballs, ham, scalloped potatoes, and ice cream sundaes for dessert. It was delicious! Brett and I were in heaven, after two weeks of grilled cheese, tomato soup, and frozen pizza.

God bless the good cooks of the world!

During dinner, our nephew Bryan (Bill and Sally’s oldest son) called to tell us his big news. He’s engaged! We were thrilled! He’s 21, an MP in the National Guard, and one of the sweetest “kids” I know. I can’t wait to meet his fiancée, Katie. I should have the chance, since they are planning to wait two years before getting married.

We also learned that our nephew Steven (Bill and Sally’s youngest), age 12 (but so tall, he looks 14), is trying out for the Olympic starter team in soccer. If he’s accepted in the program, that means we might see him playing in the Olympics one day. That would be SO cool!

After dinner, Steven made us watch a soccer movie with him. It was actually surprisingly good. We also played Scattergories, which yours truly won. *A-hem* Words are my life!

It was a sort of mixed-feeling weekend, but we still had a really nice time. Thanks to Bill and Sally.

Oh, and to my mother-in-law’s socks, which my father-in-law gave me in hopes it would make me stop crying.

And you know – it did. :-)