In the class I just finished on plot, one module discussed characters and character development. The lecturer indicated that good people struggling with their weaknesses create interesting characters. Perfect people and truly bad people are not interesting characters.
I am happily ensconced in LA visiting my aunt. We are getting a few errands done and doing some fun things as well.
We talked about the family of course. We talked about her family and how that affected her and my Mom growing up. We talked about our family today. We talked about religion.
I used to be in a much different place with religion than I am now. That makes it easier to talk about things, but I still believe God exists and that the Jesus story means something in this world and in my life apart from good teaching.
*****
We went to a laundry matt to clean two of her big quilts. Once in a while, you have to go to a laundry matt and sometimes people go there every week.
I've always found them to be quirky, cozy places to hang out. This didn't disappoint. My favorite moment came when we took the big quilts out of the dryer and just sat there with them smothering us both. So soothing and comforting. It's almost worth the $5 to just have the experience of extreme warmth for a good fifteen minutes.
Enjoy life's crazy, wonderful moments when they appear.
*****
We talked over Chinese food about spouses working together. I talked about the realities of working with Jay, the impossibility of it going well when we both were so wounded. I talked of how I wounded him and vica versa. She mused that it would have been really hard for her parents as well. Yes, impossible. It sounds like my grandmother was angry and hostile all the time, and my grandfather withdrew, had impulse control issues, smoked himself to death.
AlAnon helps me keep focusing on myself and my issues. It helps me identify what I need to do and let others live their own lives. It gives me a way to have boundaries again. I have people spinning out literally all around me. In the midst, I will still live a healthy life and have adequate responsibility to people I love and how love me.