Trials and Tribulations

The Moody’s were on vacation last week, and, as usual, it wasn’t without its trials and tribulations.

The first being the weather. It was good, but not great. When we are on vacation, we can typically count on weather that is colder and cloudier than the norm for whatever region we are visiting. That doesn’t stop us from sitting next to some body of water while shivering and trying to catch any possible glimpse of sun.

The second trial and tribulation was family.

It started at the gate in Manchester airport when Heather turned to me and asked why David and I had to always fight. (He had just bought the girls bottles of Fiji water because it is “the best water on the planet.”) When we were boarding the plane, I asked Heather the same question about her and Nicole.

Of course, “fight” is a little strong. “Bicker” is much more accurate.

The family bickering continued between my brother and my grandparents. I heard several times how my brother ate all the peanuts and pistachios. My brother complained about my grandfather’s sweatsuit and my grandmother’s downloading of porn while on his home wifi. He was just teasing about the porn of course, but thankfully the sweatsuit had to finally be washed after my grandfather got some chocolate on it from the chocolate chip cookies he ate one day. (My brother doesn’t touch the desserts.) These three also got into heated political discussions. When my brother found out my grandfather had voted for Jimmy Carter, he was horrified. My grandfather was surprised considering how much my brother likes peanuts. (I could actually write an entire blog post on the relationship between those three.)

Evidence of sweatsuit. Photo creds: my brother.

There was also some bickering between my mother and Phil. This was limited though because Phil was sick – its own trial and tribulation, and my mother was trying to be nice. (Since last summer, these two have been trying to outdo each other in terms of who can be the one with the most serious health issues. Phil is currently winning, but it’s neck and neck.) However, their bickering over how to do the checkbook came the closest to an actual fight.

And then there was me with my mother and Phil. I didn’t so much bicker with them as I did nag them. At one point, Heather told me my mother was going to be relieved to see me go back home. The nagging included tips on driving, schedules for medication, and the tracking of calorie consumption. I didn’t feel they could do anything right. Of course, I don’t feel most people can do anything right.

In addition to the bickering, there was the famous Moody indecisiveness. Every day, we agonized over what to do. By the time we decided, our choices were limited. Next time we go on vacation, I’m going to have my sister Sue schedule everything for us, even if she isn’t with us, since she has excelled at making firm decisions for everyone during past vacations. We did manage to get several good dinners in (one bad – David’s fault), a shopping spree, some beach time, and a visit to Blowing Rocks Preserve (thanks to Meagan – the closest we have to a planner on vacation). We arrived at high tide and left just before a deluge of rain hit. (I’m still amazed at our timing, which is never that perfect.)

Mid-week Meagan and Heather returned to work, and Connor joined us. For some reason, planning became a little easier at that point. Nicole and Connor managed to get in massages, paddle boarding, bike riding, turtle viewing, and model home touring. This really irritated Heather.

It also really irritated Heather when she saw pictures of Nicole wearing her dress and sweater at dinner one night. She actually called Nicole during dinner to bicker.

Even with all the trials and tribulations, no one was happy to return home.