Sigh. Sometimes being in my family gives me a headache.

My grandpa and my aunt are both out visiting from New Jersey, and my mom can do nothing but stir up trouble. My grandpa is in his eighties, and lives with his only son. For awhile, he had talked about wanting to move into a senior care facility, to be near people his own age and have things to do during the day.

However, his two older children (the ones that live in New Jersey with him) convinced him that he wouldn’t be happy, and wouldn’t have enough money to pay for it, even if he sold his house. Since he listened to them, it caused a huge rift between my mum and her siblings, because she thought the senior care facility would be good for him.

Fast forward a year, and my grandpa decides to come out and visit California. After a lot of hassle–there was an argument about whether someone on the west coast could buy tickets for someone on the east coast–and he finally arrives with the aunt I’ve only seen twice in my life.

On the way home from the airport, driving alone with my brother, he confesses that he hates his living conditions, that he’s bored and cleans my uncle’s house just to find something to do, and that he really wishes he was in a senior care facility.

This confessions throws my mum into a frenzy, and she spends her time now finding information on the cost and offerings of all the nearby senior care facilities. Which is useless really, because no matter how wonderful things are out in California, grandpa will never move out here, away from my grandma’s grave. And he’ll never move into a senior care facility in New Jersey, because his children out there will talk him out of it the moment he brings it up.

In the end, this will just cause another huge fight in our family. My mum has already enlisted one cousin, and I’m sure the other would be on board as soon as she sees what is going on. But grandpa will be irritated, because he told my mum last year to butt out, and my aunt will be irritated because she is apparently delusional and thinks my grandpa is happy where he is.

I’m very tired of it all. Yes, my grandpa is extremely unhappy. But, he’s the most stubborn one in the family (we had to all get it from somewhere), and he will not change his mind. There is no point in bringing it up anymore unless someone likes family infighting.

I don’t. I much prefer family apathy. It works much better for me.

- “Miss Murder: DecemberUnderground: AFI