I just got back from picking up my cousin at the airport. I went there with my mother and father. My father drove. My father does not adapt well to change or to things not going as he planned. My cousin’s flight came in at 9, but it was 9:50 before she got out to the international arrivals hall. We got to the car and left the lot and were driving towards our usual road home out of Newark. The exit was closed.

My father flipped out about not knowing where he is, what’s going on, etc. My mother starts pointing her finger and telling him where to turn - causing him to turn into a parking lot and almost causing several car accidents. So this upsets my father further and they start fighting, and I’m sitting in the backseat with my 15 year old cousin who’s just gotten off the first plane ride of her life, and has been in the USA for a total of 1 hour - 50 minutes of which were in an aiport… and I’m trying to exchange those little, “Get a load of my wacky parents!” apologetic smiles/nods/frowns. Were I not in the presence of said relative from Poland, I’d be reprimanding my parents and calling them children and telling them to pull over and let me drive… and having them curse me out, but at least they wouldn’t be fighting one another anymore.

Sigh. I am tired. They’re all downstairs annoying the crap out of her: “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want anything? Need anything?” The answers are, universally, “No thank you - I’d just like to go to bed. For me, it’s 5 am.” But she’s too polite to put it like that. I’ll have to break her of this habit. Speaking your mind is a good American trait - having some restraint is a good European trait. Combine the two and you’re in good shape. It’s funny, because my father’s as Euro as they come and the man has no restraint or sense of social propriety, or just plain manners. Sigh again.

Well, it’s after 11 and I still need to wash my face, brush my teeth, find something to wear tomorrow and get settled into my nighttime routine. This is part of it, but I might have to turn on the windchimes CD or some crap since I am all worked up and stressed over the last few hours; I’ll need to do some major relaxation or visualization or whatever. Yoga? Breathing? Meditation?

Hrm. The weather channel tell me it’s going to feel like 100 degrees tomorrow and be disgustingly humid, with thunderstorms aplenty. This means I’ll be wearing a skirt. This also means I’ll be wearing flip-flops and bringing work appropriate shoes with me. And carrying around bottled water like it’s going out of style.

I’m going to get a glass of water with lemon right now. That sounds darned tasty and refreshing. I’ve heard that even thinking of the word/fruit “lemon” will make people salivate. It seems to work for me, but I wonder if this is the case with all humans.