The circus comes to town

We have a friend who refers to her inlaws and their kids as “Chaos.” When my sister and her family come, we like to say the circus comes to town. And I mean that in a respectful way.

Our family of three humans and two dogs barely reigns in the hysteria long enough to function somewhat normally. For example, last night I got mad at one of the dogs because he’s a little princess and can’t just crap wherever like the other dog and it was cold and come on already, JUST POOP! So although he was ringing the bell to go outside after he ate, I was taking a stand and teaching him a lesson. He pooped next to me while I was eating dinner.

Now that got cleaned up real quick and wasn’t THAT big of a deal. I share that anecdote simply to highlight the fact that we’re barely keeping it together as things stand.

It’s not that my sister’s family is the circus, it’s that they bring the circus-like atmosphere. She’s got four kids, ages 0-6 or so, and usually comes with my parents in tow. So we’re adding eight people to the mix, at least two of whom still regularly pee their pants. Plus our family of three, and Miss Cupcake definitely still pees her pants. Plus our two dogs, each a pitbull-mix and over forty pounds. Things get hectic quick.

It’s Friday afternoon. Fridays are supposed to be about going home, having a drink, putting the kid to bed and then having more drinks and then drinking like a grown up through the weekend and being relaxed. Circus implies that none of that will happen. Well, the drinking will happen, but with the circus in town it’s liable to lead to unintentional insults, hurt feelings, and suppressed competitive natures brought sometimes violently to the forefront. Then we’ll have to spend our days doing kid-friendly activities with mild to severe hangovers. It’s exactly like a circus.

It’s great to see family, and this is definitely the time of year for it. Don’t get me wrong here: I’m embracing the circus coming to town. I’m definitely not the ringmaster but I’m in the running for lion tamer or maybe just the clown who drives the silly little car.

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Tags: family, siblings

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