Summer Winds Down

I sit here slightly depressed because the summer has flown by in what seems like the blink of an eye. I spent the third week of July on Martha's Vineyard with my family. I have been going up to the island for most of my life but this was the first time I had spent an entire week with my wife and kids as well as my mother and step father. The kids had a good time and I enjoyed my time with them at the beach and when we took a long hike. The weather for the most part was good with an odd shower here or there and only one day of sustained rain which was a miracle given the weather this summer. What I didn't enjoy was spending time at the house with my step father. He made my adolescent years and my teenage years a living hell and he has not gotten any better. He didn't say much to me or my family during the 8 days we were on the island but his silence spoke volumes. I have not felt as unwelcome and unwanted since I moved out of the house when I was 19 years old. The kids enjoy Martha's Vineyard and because of that we will likely go back next year but if it was just me I would not set foot in that house again until my step father was gone.

Sunday is my wife's 40th birthday. We are taking her out to a Japanese steakhouse and then out for drinks. I am of course the driver so I will not be getting drunk but I really hope she does. I want her to relax and not worry about things. She suffers from health anxiety and worries constantly that whatever ache, pain, bump or twitch is a sign of some catastrophic ailment that will take her to an early grave. Each time she goes to the doctor she is given a clean bill of health and it frustrates me because I want her to be happy and not spend her days worrying about things.