Spring Break & Spring Cleaning-Boomerang Kids Need A Lot Of Space…

Cindy has some fairly funny stories about having her adult children and three grandchildren under one roof and today when Fedex delivered her above ground pool into her two car garage, he asked if she was Spring cleaning?  Cindy admittedly “gets some of her best material” for her #CindyismQuotes from her home life.  

Although she has three granddaughters and two adult children along with her husband to help with chores-my sister has no real help with housekeeping because her houseful of family members disappear when it’s chore time but she can count on Jesse the handyman to show up and help for a price of course.  Her husband hates “Honey Do” lists and will do anything to hide from Cindy’s latest chore list.  

The truth is that half of her garage is full of her daughter’s belongings that won’t fit into her home.  Boomerang Kids bring all or most of their belongings when they move home and although Stephaney and Arthur are home shopping together, Stephaney has far more “stuff” than her sister Leigh Ann does.  

Leigh Ann moved home with several suitcases and adds to her stuff with shopping adventures.  Leigh Ann’s husband is currently at Lemoore Naval Base living in their 3 bedroom 2 bath beautiful home and working on a transfer.  Leigh Ann couldn’t bear to be alone after living at home for thirty years when Alex was away working and moved home with her baby until Alex is transferred so all of her furniture and most of her possessions are with Alex.  

Cindy and I are having a lot of fun with Latest Little Pawner, Madyson and will be really sad to see her move away again but we know that one day Leigh Ann and Madyson will have to leave and join Alex.  It’s been so long since we’ve had a baby around!  The twins are far too old for hugs and kisses these days but we’ve always loved being around the grandkids so having Madyson nearby has been a blessing.

Leigh Ann loves being home again and isn’t in a big hurry to move just yet although my sisters home is bursting at the seams and occasionally, there are arguments over the bathroom and washing machine.  With two adult children and three grandchildren- there’s always a bit of drama at Cindy’s house compared to mine where Foxy Wortham is the King Of The Castle.  Cindy’s dog Bentley adds to the chaos and brings a few laughs though.

Stephaney has bags of clothes that no longer fit but she can’t seem to part with anything because she plans to lose weight and wear her old clothes again.  So far, Stephaney has lost 30lbs because she’s finally getting serious and wants to look good for her wedding.  

Never mind the fact that my entire family wish she wasn’t planning a wedding-Stephaney has decided that Arthur is Mr Right while everyone else tries to deal with and “accept” her choice for marriage.

The twins still haven’t “warmed up” to Arthur and my guess is that they never will.  They resent Arthur just showing up and hogging all of their mother’s time to such an extent that they refuse to go anywhere with Stephaney because Arthur is always with her when she isn’t working.  
 
Cindy and I have tried to buffer the resentment and we aren’t crazy about Arthur either, it looks like Stephaney is going to move in and plan a wedding with him much to her daughter’s dismay!  This afternoon, Maryssa told me that Stephaney was marrying Arthur-not them and they are sick of having him shoved on them.

Meanwhile, my sisters weird handyman, Jesse is back on the scene after the tree fiasco last week and he managed to talk Cindy out of that ladder last week too.  Jesse and I have never really “hit it off” but even I get along better than my niece Leigh Ann who slams the door on him all the time!  

This handyman shows up at least once a week “suggesting” new home improvement ideas to my sister who (for some reason) listens to his advice and ideas and occasionally goes along with him while my entire family shake their heads about it.  Jesse has been a “fixture” at Cindy’s house for 20 years and although he doesn’t live there, he is often hanging around working on something or other.  

This week it’s the fence but next week he will find something else to talk Cindy into.  Jesse reminds me of “What About Bob” and occasionally, “What About Arthur” because it’s the folks you don’t want to see everytime you visit your sister that you wind up bumping into anyway.  Maryssa and Makenna have put their foot down regarding “being a family” with Arthur and Stephaney.  

I’ve tried and tried to tell Stephaney to plan activities alone with the twins but apparently, Arthur is Hellbent on being around the twins even though he knows they don’t like him.  Cindy and I have made attempts to find out more about Arthur as my dedicated readers know after reading my recent blog-What About Arthur?  But, let’s face it-any advice we give our kids about who they plan to marry flies out the nearest window.  Stephaney can’t see the red flags of problems that Arthur brings by demanding that her children spend time with them which is a real problem.

Today while at the Kimball Art Museum, Jesse called Cindy about repaving her brick stairs.  We were scouting for a wedding in June but having fun with the kids since they are out of school this week.  

The twins love new locations and adventures.  When our adult children were young, I always planned outings to the zoo, library or museums because I believe in art and entertainment and because I love adventure myself.  Cindy has never liked the museum or library but I drag her along anyway.

Jesse is always trying to find a new job and bidding high for it.  Cindy’s husband, Steve had already patched the stairs when I stepped on one and it came back up at me nearly throwing me down the stairs.  But, leave it to Jesse to come up with something new to fix-whether it needs repairs or not.

Packing up Stephaney’s stuff will be quite a job and I know the twins will really miss her starting a new life with Arthur but we “can’t change what’s coming,” Arthur isn’t going anywhere whether we or the twins like him-or not.  Let’s face it-you can’t choose who your kids marry!  In fact, your children can’t choose who you marry either which is why there are so many evil stepmother and stepfather stories.

I know that even while Cindy’s daughters and granddaughters occasionally argue, my sister will really miss having Stephaney at home.  It’s sad that Stephaney had only been home for two weeks when Leigh Ann moved home from Seattle and then after moving to California, moved back again.  Stephaney really had no time alone with the twins before Leigh Ann moved back again.  Both Stephaney and Leigh Ann “compete” for the twins attention which causes a LOT of problems.  

Leigh Ann and Stephaney have never had a healthy relationship which is a real tragedy because I believe they’ve always been jealous of one another.  For a twin-it’s something I’ve never experienced myself.  My sister and I are best friends and even though our personalities are different, we have never been jealous or hateful to each other.  Trying to get my nieces to have a good relationship with each other continues to be impossible.  Luckily, Maryssa & Makenna are best friends just like Cindy and I.

Today, these two sets of twins did our first bike ride together on our weight loss journey with comical results because Cindy isn’t comfortable riding bikes just yet and Makenna is terrified of a bike crash with Cindy-but getting fit isn’t for the faint hearted!  We are in it to win it as a TwinTeam.  

Maryssa is really working on losing another 10lbs as Cindy and I “roll into” our last 20lbs which is harder than our initial weight loss was.  We’ve hit a plateau and finding ways to lose the rest of the weight is an ongoing battle.

  We are planning to go through everything and have our annual estate sale in April because May is just too hot.  I’m fairly certain that Jesse will find a way to find work during this Spring cleaning but after years of thinking he’s a con man-perhaps I need to lighten up along with Leigh Ann and Stephaney or even the twins?

Everyone in my family is so opinionated it’s not easy to get them to get along but Lord knows my sister and I continue to try…after all family is really important to us but our children have yet to learn the value of having people in your life that love you unconditionally even when your adult children may be acting selfish.  

The truth is all three of our adult children argue with each other all the time and trying to convince them of the importance of getting along with each other is the one thing my sister and I have never really accomplished.

We wish Stephaney would put the twins first but since Cindy has raised them since birth, childcare and the expenses for Maryssa and Makenna have always been our responsibility and although Arthur thinks he needs the twins in their lives, neither he or Stephaney have the first clue of the expenses.  The fact that they are teenagers and have no plans to leave Cindy’s home where they have lived their entire lives continues to be a battle with Stephaney.  We don’t want them to leave and they don’t want to leave.

Arthur needs to realize that he will never be a part of our family but Stephaney just won’t accept the truth.  Meanwhile, my son and her sister along with her children continue to argue about the fact that she is the only one that wants Arthur around.

Finding a resolution seems an impossible task along with finding space for everyone at Cindy’s and although I think Jesse is pushy and takes advantage of my sister, at least he helps out.  The only thing Arthur brings to the mix is more drama and arguing…

Wendy M Wortham