so much on my mind today

Things I'm thinking about these last few days:

1.) Scott and I have been together for 17 years... 17 years with a full house, and an empty wallet have always meant that we couldn't afford to go to NY to visit his family for the holidays. This year, his mother, his little sister, his sister in law and his niece are coming down for Thanksgiving. I've decided to also celebrate Christmas that weekend - so Scott can, for the first time in ages, have Christmas festivities with his family. I'm excited, and overjoyed for him - and totally stressed out about feeding 14 people, and about his mother's visit, and... well... I don't generally"entertain" so I'm just nervous. But the excitement outweighs the nerves. I know that even an imperfect Thanksgiving dinner, and a month-early abbreviated Christmas celebration will be a wonderful thing for all of us.

2.) My daughter informed me that her ex-boyfriend (who lives one street over from us) and his cousin (18 & 12) have been basically abandoned and are living in his mother's *soon to be foreclosed on* home alone, since his mother moved out and left them there. The 18 yr old has no job, can't pay the bills... I have no idea what they're eating, or IF they're eating at all. I am being tossed back and forth between calling social services, and going over with dinner, or inviting them to the house... thing is, things were REALLY ugly when my daughter and this kid broke up - he's got anger issues, a(n obviously) dysfunctional family life, and he gets violent. We had to completely sever ties in order to feel safe, and I worry for MY kids' safety if we get involved with this kid again... so torn. So damn torn. I honestly don't even know if any of this is even true, it could be the imagination of the 12 yr old (who told my daughter this story the other day) so I just really don't know what to do - but I think I have no choice but to call Social Services, at least they can check into it, and if it's true, they can step in and do what needs to be done. But the idea of them sitting over there w/o any dinner right now is breaking my heart.

3.) My son was evicted from his apartment, so he and his fiancee are staying with us temporarily. It's a less-than-ideal situation. They bicker, they're broke, their stuff is everywhere, I'm stressed out. But they're both 18, and have been living the teenage out-on-their-own life, complete with a teenager's diet (ramen, potato chips, soda, and a lot of crappy fast food from the dollar menu) so tonight I made a pork roast, roasted carrots, rice, homemade gravy... poor kids ate like they hadn't eaten in 6 months. I enjoyed making something for dinner that everyone really enjoyed - but the way they ate, and the way they appreciated it - well that was a gift to me this evening.

4.) My mother and half sister stopped by the house on their way home from church today - they were bearing gifts: a big bag of apples and bananas. How awesome, the kids love fresh fruit. Now if only they'd have managed the whole visit without the ignorant small-minded racist joke. I gave them the gift of holding my tongue (my mother KNOWS how I feel about racism!) but I can't swear that I won't call her later todiscuss it. I'm not just miffed about the content of the joke, I'm pretty ticked that the joke included the N word, complete with the image of a lynch mob, and was told in front of my youngest child.

And she wonders why I don't visit more?

5.) My Best Friend has kicked her husband out. This is excellent news. Really, he has been emotionally and mentally abusive to her for years and started to verge on physically abusive to their youngest son - so she tossed him. Good for her, after 20 yrs together, I'm proud of her. I also worry for her. I'll be providing their Thanksgiving dinner as well since she isn't in the position to afford to buy the fixings for the celebration that THIS Thanksgiving should be. I'll do whatever it takes to support her in what is the BEST POSSIBLE THING she could have done for herself and her kids, even though right now, she's feeling like it's the hardest thing she's ever done, and second guessing her decision...