kyburg | Peace be with you -

This post is dedicated to my husband's older brother, who shall fondly be known henceforth as "Cookie McFuckup." (thanks to

catsonmars for the moniker - it's a keeper.)

There is nothing wrong with a Catholic Easter Vigil Mass (did I get that right?) that ends with high-fiving the altar boy. Nothing.

Jim's niece, Rochelle, is so close to 18, it really doesn't count anymore - is going to graduate from high school in June, has an adorable beau by the name of Jake - and completed the coursework to confirm in the Catholic church by this Easter. Would we come?

Heh.

The plot thickens when you know she's living with her grandmother after her father tossed her out over her choice of religion. This is the same fella who has an assault record with the same kid (the charges stuck, folks. No mistake.), was raised Catholic (until the parents divorced, at least) and decided that his church (one of many vaugley "reform" whosiewhatits semi-christian, maybe, organizations, you know the type) in Chicago, was the only one. Oh, wait a minute. They moved to Ohio somewhere. No longer in Chicago.

You sense the amount of drama I'm bracing myself for, right?

We arrived in Louisville Thursday night, after changing planes at Bill & Ted's Excellent Airport in Chicago (Chicago Midway), and having said scarfed down dinner in said airport, were more than ready for sleeping at the Sleep Inn we got through Priceline - which was, as always, nice, cheap and just what we needed.

A note about bathrooms at the airport in Chicago - guys, the perfect temperature of warm water at the sink as a default? You rock. Moving on....

Louisville Airport? Guys, playing the Derby Fanfare as our bags arrived at the baggage claim was just too much - if I didn't know I was in Kentucky near Derby season, I did then....

When then took our lovely (thank you Priceline, thank you) rental car the necessary hour and half drive to Berea, KY.

There was a Cracker Barrel just down the street from the hotel. My day is saved. You might find them offensive, but to be truthful, I think they've gotten the message - they've come a long way in the last ten years, further than they have at Denny's out here, that's for certain...in any case, I've found them unique, always tasty and a good default for a large group.

It's Friday. The girl is fasting, has services to attend that night - and we settle in. We meet all the key players, get the lay of the land, etc. Berea is fast approaching Really Cool status. I can easily see

llamajoy and

tenshi_no_korin strolling around the college campus. I can see a lot of their circle in this very Blue part of KY - it's a college town, designed, built and run today. Just about everything centers around the college - and it has a very rich, loving heritage of its own.

Saturday, I meet the girl's biological mother (and her grandmother on that side) for the first time. I'd been led to believe she was some kind of monster. *snaps fingers* Oh yeah, I was listening to Cookie, wasn't I?

Now, that doesn't mean that I get confirmation of some things that remain concerning about the lady - but she's hardly vicious, or difficult to communicate with. We trade email addresses. We compare notes. She doesn't come away scott-free, but some things become clear very quickly.

We've been lied to. Convincingly. *sighs* Well, Cliff was right about one thing - if you really want to know someone, look at their friends. Cookie's best friend in high school was

firez's mother - and he knows just how much I believe her these days. I'm better prepared, now.

Jim's younger brother is also in attendence, and there is plenty of evidence of that he's been the Very Good Son for all the time he's been there. Richard takes care of business - and oh, you were asking if Jim had a brother? He does - and he's available! Proof of six figures, a really sterling resume and I might consider introducing you. An interest in higher mathematics as a hobby a real plus - you'll need it with Rich. I can talk shop with him (we geek well together), but he leaves me in the dust when it comes to his forte. Jim is very bright - this is his even smarter younger brother.

We shop. We talk. We shop some more. We eat. We socialize. We have vigil that night, so I'm keeping one eye on the clock.

Then Cookie decides to call various family (not us, wonder why) and inform them that he's coming to the confirmation that night.

Throw any idea of a schedule into the toliet. The kid looses it. For a good four hours, (after prying her fingernails out of the ceiling - she's angry and terrified), we finally get her and her fella to see Father John to get a plan together.

Vigil goes off without a hitch - the kid gets confirmed (her fella was her sponsor, wouldn't you know?) - but Jim and I keep our eyes on the door.

The worst Cookie could do was shut off the cell phone still on his account - and stew in his own juice. The girl has a younger brother, still living with Cookie - invited, but didn't get to come. Yanno.

Father John? Oh, I liked him loads. I think he has to be in his 70's - think Friar Tuck, girth and all, with steely-gray hair. He'd been a truck driver for some time before being called to service some twenty-odd years ago as a priest. He didn't use the metal censer for holy water flicking (sorry, that's what it was) during services, he used a tree branch. Turns out he broke the censer during services some time ago - and he clearly loved that part of the service where he got to get us all wet. I laughed. So I'm a heretic - I had a great time. Father John also can sing, and cantored most of the service.

He can stay. You think he didn't have a very good idea of what to tell the kid when she came to him with the latest in a long string of Really Stupid Things My Dad's Decided to Do To Me?

Sunday, was Easter. Ham, deviled eggs and too much chocolate. More socializing.

Monday, we shopped. We also ordered the rocking chair I wanted to bring home from Kentucky - since the family has had three house fires and two burglaries, the rocking chairs I grew up with are long gone. We'll need one with the adoption, and I wanted something from Jim's part of the country.

This is what we ordered:

It should be ready just about the time we bring the baby home, if all goes on schedule. About March of next year. He's that booked up.

You want to see all of the things Brian makes, go see his website.

He's the son of one of Mom's best friends - knew she'd know where to go for this!

After that? We went to the candle outlet. This is dangerous stuff.

You know the large jar candles you can find everywhere? They cost something around $7 to $23 each out here, depending on where you get them - we went into the outlet, and the seconds were $1 each.

I got $30 worth of candles, and had to box them up. I got jars, I got pillars...I got tea lights, votives, you name it.

I lost two of the jars coming home (thank you TSA for snooping and then not re-packing them, grrr...) - but I have enough candles to see me through the entire year.

That was also the pattern - we had the money to spare for shopping and spoiling, but it just didn't cost that much. And that's after going through the town's PeaceCraft and helping reduce their inventory significantly. They're having to close and revamp the store due to a number of reasons - so things were 50 - 75% off. Shirts, vests, fair-trade chocolate, tea, toys, buttons - and we found the magnetic ribbon of the day - green and white, it says "Support the Troops - End the War."

We bought extra bags at the Big Lots. We packed. We socialized, we shopped.

We caught up.

I didn't get very far away from work - having the laptop with me, I ended resolving one mapping issue and a number of work-related issues while I was out - but I got pulled away a lot. A big holiday, a big family -

It was good, overall. There's lots of leftover concerns, but the girl is in a pretty good place and can only improve with time (and some expectations, methinks).

It's family. And...stuff.

Today? *laughs* Today my mother's sister comes down for a week-long visit with my mother. You got it.

We're going to Sis' - we'll eat, we'll socialize. We may shop.

In this case, it's the Danish Mafia. We'll be cooed over, coddled, cossetted and smothered with affection. They'll groom us, lecture us, do the dishes and tidy the rooms. They'll cook. It's also Mom's birthday weekend - and she's 81.

It's family. It's what you do.

See ya later -