Well That Didn't Work

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

11:21 AM

AND TO THINK I WAS NERVOUS ABOUT MEETING DENNIS' DAD
Hey everyone, I'm home again; I got back from Florida on Monday, but have been both too busy and too lazy to blog. As I believe I've mentioned in an earlier post, Dennis spends his summers in Miami with his father who moved down there after he and Dennis' mother were divorced. Seeing as Dennis and I have been dating for nearly a year and a half, his father invited me to visit for a while this summer. Being in Florida was a welcomed changed from home life which I only barely managed to survive 5 days of before approaching the brink of a complete emotional collapse. (See last entry) Seeing Dennis was, as always, wonderful and being awoken by a kiss every morning made me happier than I've been in a very long time.

Dennis' father suffered a stroke-type brain clot when he was nineteen and was the first to survive the rare condition and risky surgery he underwent to fix it; however, that surgery only saved his life, it did not restore him to the health he had taken for granted only a short time before. Dennis tells me that when he was younger, his father used to take care of him and his brother when they came to visit, but those roles have slowly reversed over the last few years. Dennis now helps his father with everything from cooking to computer work instead of getting summer jobs and hanging out with friends like most teenagers, but apparently, his father couldn't care much less.

While I had a wonderful time in Florida (staying up talking until all hours of the night, bowling, arcading, playing with the world's cutest puppy and swimming,) my visit was dampened by seeing the way Dennis' father treats him. That man is the most inconsiderate person I have ever encountered, and considering some of the members of my family, that says a lot. Its not just that his father is ungrateful for the sacrifices Dennis makes for him each year, he actually seems to go out of his way to make his sons' stay with him as miserable as possible. For example, Miami has a very large Cuban population and there's a special bakery that makes Cuban pastries that Dennis adores and insisted I try while I was down there. His father is currently in a wheel chair and as such, does not drive (or for that matter own a car) so anytime Dennis needs or wants to go somewhere, he has to take a cab. Dennis made a special trip to the bakery while I was in town and bought eight pastries: two for him, two for me, two for his brother, and two for his father. We brought them home and put them in the refrigerator and then decided to go a mall near his father's apartment. When we returned home, all but two of the pastries had been eaten. Its not just that though. He wakes Dennis up early every morning by screaming at him to get up, criticizes Dennis for everything, thinks Dennis lies about most of the things he tells him, and is in every way a self-centered ass. What's worse, being in Florida with nothing to do but listen to his dad criticize and help him with even the absolute simplest of tasks really upsets Dennis and I hate seeing him upset. What was really bad though, was knowing that I couldn't yell at his father and tell him how awfully he treats his son. I don't want anyone hurting my Dennis, ever, and having to sit there and watch it really bothered me.

Otherwise, the trip was fantastic. I got home Monday evening and went shopping with my sister, Nicki, all day yesterday. Surprisingly, we didn't kill each other and even more surprisingly, I bought some clothes (anyone who knows me knows that I hate clothing shopping.) Nothing exciting today, babysat and went out with a my friend Mikey. Other than that, not too much to report besides the mindless diary sounding drivel that emanates from most other bloggers whose entries I've read. I should be able to make another post or two before I leave for Israel in a week including at least one political entry. I'll only be home for two days in between my return from the Mediterranean and college but once I arrive in Washington, I'm sure there will be much more to blog about. : o )