We have been waiting for baited breathe for my mother-in-law to come home. We decided that after last year’s craziness that we were going to have a great year come hell or high water. And so far we have except of course for my sister who has fallen harder off the wagon than ever. My mother-in-law is a big hearted, absolutely magnificently dysfuntional person. Having her not be around has been great. Every February we go through some kind of family trauma. Last February was my mother-in-law and this February is my sister. And then there’s is the multitude of shit in between. My mother-in-law is a drug addict in denial. It’s not something we talk about with her, she avoids the topic, we avoid the topic, we all more or less try to not talk about it. What has been interesting is that my sister’s issues have provided a platform for insight and discussion about what’s going on with her. It’s tentative, but oddly the first steps have been taken.  I’m not sure what the no talking thing is about. I’m a victim of it as much as the next person. Who wants to make waves but it really makes me want to scream. All of this no-talking just seems really fucked up. Hubby and I have made a promise to each other. This was going to be our year of brutal honesty. It’s much harder than you think because you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings but sometimes there seems like no other way to cut through the bullshit.I think all of this bullshit is what makes me love our dog so much.  Hail to animals!