That Time of Year

I managed to get a quick Mother's Day note out to the mother unit last night (one of the benefits of your parents living abroad is not having to do the Mother's Day brunch in real time) and got a reply back this morning. She gets here on the 31st.....for four months.

Four months. My mother has taken vacationing and annual vacations to the next level.

My parents have a house about an hour and a half north of Seattle. Brother #4 somehow managed to talk my parents into buying a house on a golf course in the town in which he attends college. Same brother also managed to convince them, after a few shitty roommate experiences, that roommates were a bad idea. To recap, said brother lives in a 5 bedroom house on the golf course, rent free, by himself and the folks pay the bills. Did I mention that said house on the golf course is about an hour from the border (Canada) and about the same from Mt. Baker? And the no-bills thing?

I was pretty proud of my "no curfew" status in high school until Brother #4 utterly schooled me in the fine art of obtaining parental concessions.

Mother unit informed me that they were purchasing some land in another town an hour and half away (different direction) with Seattle views and all that. Looks like the 'rents are going to be neighbors in their retirement years. We haven't all lived in the same country, let alone the same state, since....1986. Although technically, one sibling is still in CA. I don't think she'll be there for the long haul. Once one of us has kids, she'll be here.

UNRELATED: Perk of divorce? You are no longer the matron of honor, you are the MAID of honor. I would rather be a maid and will be next week. One of my closer friends (K -- of K and J fame) is getting married in Mexico and we're flying down on Memorial Day for five days of margaritas and cervezas in el sol. Couldn't come at a better time.