Poor Femmy...

I told Nancy to relax and take a few days for herself, and Femmy agreed with me. After all, she's leaving in 2 weeks and the last thing she needs is to be worrying after her mother! Michael hasn't done anything for her since he was 25, so give him a chance. I wrote Nancy an email that said, "there's this book you should read called Sabbatical 101 and there's an entire chapter written about not taking on extra jobs before your trip." She wrote back, "Oh thank you Ruth, you made me laugh." I was pleased I could cheer her.

But really now, she drove all the way over and picked me up and then turned around and drove back to her house, and Femmy said "Why are you going this way?" and Nancy said, "Because this is the way I know!" She's lived here for 20 years! If you were going to Cambridge you'd take highway 8. But not Nancy. Imagine that...

Poor Lynne's daughter, you know the one in the ballet school, she has a deformed bone in her foot and can't dance. They're at the centre this week teaching a Chinese class... Either Chinese people learning to speak English, or English people learning to speak Chinese. She's such a nice girl. And about her mother-in-law, I said to Lynne, "Lynne, you need to relax and know you're doing the best you can. And it's only 6 months!" I don't envy her, I tell you.

Anyway, I wanted to have Nancy for lunch and not Femmy, because I think Nancy could use the break but I don't know how to call her and suggest she come without Femmy. And Peggy has a gift certificate for Swiss Chalet that she said she'd like to treat me to, which would be lovely. But she's sick now, and I can't call her because she'll think I'm calling to hint that I'd like to go for lunch and Peggy being Peggy she's probably take me out if she was on deaths door, when really all I want to know is if she's feeling better!

...

...

...

Is this conversation confusing to you?

It was for me too. But Gramma gets mad when you ask who Femmy and Nancy are ("What? Oh you remember Femmy! Femmy lived next door to Ursula and Nancy is Femmy's daughter.") So I usually just nod and say things like "Poor so-and-so" and "I agree" and "good advice, Gramma." She likes it best that way.