As I previously mentioned, my sister and her husband are (at the very least) separating. Though Mrs. Geek and I are not privy to all the details, it appears that my brother-in-law will be moving out of my parents house sometime around the first of the year. I feel sad for my sister that this had to happen, but I also think it to be for the best.
This inevitably raises questions about gift giving for the holidays. Do Mrs. Geek and I get something for my brother-in-law for Christmas? Do we not? We had been operating on the idea that we would not, but got rather skittish yesterday and considered sending along an Amazon gift card.
Just to cover our bases, I decided to call home yesterday and ask my Mom what we should do. Her answer was very telling about the level of stress in that household right now. She said that she got him something, but advised that we hold off getting something until we find out how Christmas Day goes.
How Christmas Day goes??? That is the kind of worry that no one needs. My sister and brother-in-law have been continuously dating/engaged/married for fourteen years now. That my brother-in-law cannot be counted upon to be gracious about a Christmas gift after all that time... well, it's sad, so sad, that the holidays this year all come down to "let's find out how Christmas Day goes"?
I can't wait for my parents to get here on Wednesday. They tell me that this trip was their present to each other this year. That speaks volumes about where things are in their household. I hope they can come out here and just rest and enjoy themselves for a while. This will likely be a rather low key visit. I hope it will be a good one. If anyone needs some time away from holiday stress, it's them.
said drgeek
on 2006-12-24 at 10:55 a.m.
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