Not Half Bad...

...yesterday, I accompanied my father and my cousin down to Price where Grandma Pierce's gigantic doll collection was to be divvied up amongst her progenitors. Keep in mind, Grandma is still alive and sometimes kicking, albeit she does so from a rest home. She is not exactly all there which is really sad, and I know it may come across as harsh, but I truly wish she would be released from this mortal life so that she wouldn't be so lonely and so she could reunite with Grandpa who has been gone for almost 17 years.

The reason the dolls were being divvied was that they were currently residing along with some other personal affects in a storage unit, which costs money. The rest home seems to be sucking that money up and soon Grandma will have none (so much for an inheritance). So it was decided that we'd just let everyone choose what dolls they would and get that out of the way.

Along with doll divvying we were going to have a BBQ with my dad's family.

Let me suggest that all though I do love my extended family, it takes work. Especially as there are, okay, IS a crazy aunt, some ne'er-do-well cousins and just a whole lot of Jed Clampettedness going on with them. Not to say that I'm not a bit Whiskey-Tango myself, but I've never had a mullet. Needless to say, I wasn't really excited for this trip. And pretty much the only reason I really wanted to go was to see my favorite cousin Pam, whom I hadn't seen for a long time. But then again, her husband Father Time was going to be there, and he isn't pleasant. I also thought that there would be a lot of arguing over who got what doll because it seemed that all growing up people had certain attachments to dolls. I will go ahead now and say that there was one specific doll I wanted, a porcelain Victorian lady who looked like she was traveling somewhere, that I had used as a model for an engraving of a lady that was put on my Great Great Grandma's grave. And I figure someday I hopefully will have a daughter that will be pleased to have a doll from her Great Grandma Pierce.

Well, my family surprised me and pleased me very much. First of all, there was not one argument or bad feeling from anyone when the dolls were divided. Secondly, and THANKFULLY, Father Time left at the beginning of our visit to go to the Y game and thirdly, we all had such a great time visiting and reminiscing. It used to be growing up, that all though it was fun to visit, almost always there would be an argument, someone would try to make themselves look bigger and better than everyone and it was stink. None of this went on. Even the weather was pleasant.

So the next time you think you'd rather receive an un-anesthetized root canal than visit with your extended family, think it over. You may be just surprised how much you really do like them.