Four

That's the number of times I've had to bang on the bathroom door to wake my cousin up because he has fallen asleep on the toilet.  One of those instances even occurred in the waiting area at his doctor's office.  And that's what happens when one doc prescribes you klonopin and another unknowingly prescribes you lyrica.  This is my 31 year old cousin, a recovering drug addict, who is also being weened off of methadone.  Due to the mixture/doses of his meds, he stumbles around like a drunk man, slurring his speech and randomly passing out in places.  My aunt and uncle did not warn me of how bad he has recently become, and instead, they bought him a puppy earlier this month to "teach him responsibility."  Imagine how well that's working out. 

Not only am I babysitting my cousin and his puppy, but I'm also supposed to be watching out for my 80 year old grandmother.  The reality is that she annoyed the shit out of me so much in the first few days I was here with her bat shit crazy phone calls and repeat stories that I've done my best to avoid her.  Yesterday I picked her up some groceries, meds (that she will abuse - addiction runs in my family, even still at 80), and tried my fastest drop-off job possible.  Of course I couldn't make it out without her talking about a rectal exam.  I was literally mid-sentence asking her if her fridge shelf could handle three gallons of liquid, and BAM surgery stories.  Now, some of you may be thinking, "Oh, Katie, she's your grandmother, and she's old.  She just wants someone to talk to."  Well, you're right about all of those things.  But if she wants someone to hang out with her and listen to all the bullshit, then she shouldn't have been such a bitch to everyone all.her.life.  She was not a nice grandmother. 

And there are a few other familial issues that I will not go into the specifics of other than how it involves me coming down for breakfast to find someone already drinking.  This all on top of a sinus infection and some other health issues I'm currently having.  Frankly, I feel a bit like I've been thrown under the bus, and I have cried on the phone to my deployed husband telling him every detail as he calls regularly to check on me.  Maybe I should have anticipated how ridiculous this would be.  But I figure if it was that obvious, then I really shouldn't have even been asked to do this.  I'm not sure what kind of relationship I want to continue to have with this part of my family, and tomorrow I'll try to get help with that from my dad.  Until then, I'm on the mend from my sinus crap and counting down the days until I return home.