Oh the perils of having a family...

... and recognizing and overcoming their effects.

Every family is DYSFUNCTIONAL. Sadly, there's no way around that side effect. Eventually, if you ignore them, they'll forget what they wanted to discuss with you in the first place and/or forgive you for what you've done in the past/present. It's a vicious cycle of love and hate, but that's exactly what family is all about.

To my mother:
In your foray into the marvelous world of dementia, or what our family likes to call "another outburst", I'd like to tell you this: You are loved. You'll be alright.


This poem goes along with family, or at least I think it does:

(Shoutout to my homie on Woodley. I know he'd appreciate this. Larkin is quite the aphorist isn't he? Good stuff.)


This Be The Verse
-Philip Larkin

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.


--It's always strange to come face to face with a truth. Now and then, it can also embody a bit of humor, too. :)