No Thank Yous

It's a new year. A week after last year's Christmas day. We delivered the presents to the local nieces a week prior to the holidays. Birthday presents, christmas presents, presents from my mil (her wrist was in a cast from a fall earlier and couldn't shop for toys and certainly not wrap them). My husband being a very good son did all that for his mother. Everything was delivered on a Sunday afternoon and the bloody girl, the older one insisted (again) on calling me gramma. Worst, Gram-Mimi. That's the step grandmother. OMG I was gonna' bop her one I swear. She was calling me by the name of the woman who called me HUGE in my face! The little girl's been doing it for the last year or so every time I saw her. Immediately, her uncle threatened to take all the presents back if she couldn't address me by my correct name. Without a second thought, she quietly admits, 'auntie Karen' and shoots me the dirtiest look. Oooh, I so wanted to kill her. You laugh. But there is no love between us. She then runs across the room and hugs her uncle and turns back to me to say this-is-MY-uncle-and-I-love-him-not-you. KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF MY MAN I double screamed in my head. I realized quickly I was sinking to a new low fighting (in my head) with a five year old girl. Still... you can't blame me.

The husband is highly upset. Hurt though he probably won't admit it. We've speculated that maybe the girls didn't like their presents from us. But that's no excuse not to call to thank us. Maybe my sil didn't like the presents we got. Right, no bloody excuse for the rude behavior. Besides, the presents included a three hundred dollar gift certificate so the mother could get exactly what she wanted for the girls. We got them gift certificates because it's apparent that my sil and I have very different taste - I like kids to dress neat and preppy and she... doesn't. So the toys, an outfit each and the gift certificate has not deserved a simple thank you from anyone in that family. Not even when the husband called and spoke to the bil on Christmas afternoon. No mention about the presents, no thank you for the presents for the kids. So while I'd already given up on anyone calling to thank us, the call did finally come. Yes, a call from the sil out of the blues two days after Christmas! She left a message 'coz who in the right mind would pick up her calls right?! She was calling to ask for a favor. Yes, still no thank you. Still no mention of the gifts. Instead, she was calling to ask if her brother would pick up the birthday cake and ice for his nieces birthday party (after we returned home from our spending Christmas with friends, not family) because her husband had decided to work and she had three girls to handle in the house prior to the party. You know, we would do it for any of our friends; shit we would do it for a bloody acquaintance who treated my husband with some respect half the time. It was just so wrong for HER to call asking for this favor when first of all, she knew well and clear we weren't going to this five year old party. We don't live near her (thankfully). We just don't have that kind of relationship where you'd call to ask for a simple favor. Her brother was seriously upset while listening to the message. He roared his swear words while I spoke on my cell with my girlfriend wondering 'WTF' and shot him a look. I got off the phone quickly for him to relay the message to me. I was in disbelief. I mean, hello, aren't her friends' kids going to this party? Can't they do her that favor? Why did her husband decide to go to work instead of spend the day with their first born? Couldn't he do so before he went to work? The restaurant does not serve breakfast for crying out loud! Why was she asking her brother who had made it very clear wasn't attending the kid's party!?

My husband, her brother, didn't return the call. He's still upset he didn't get a thank you call from her or the kids. ...and I'm sure my sil is now upset her brother who couldn't even call to say 'no I won't do you the favor'. AIYOH! WTF right?! The family has something about not being able to confront each other; or hold a decent conversation; or have a civilized meal; or agree to disagreement on anything. My mil we're sure, have heard it from my sil about what a horrible person her brother is but is keeping tight lipped about everything. Her answers are now shorter then ever when her son asks her anything concerning the sister. She's just not a very tactful mother I conclude. This 'silent fight' would never happen between my brother and me 'coz if we were upset with one another, we would speak up or I would yell at his wife hahaha! The Tays are just different from the Ryans I guess. We're better lol. Plus we're awesome with thank yous - just not very good with saying 'I'm sorry'. :D