Preview of Hell

It has been upwards of 113 degrees F since we arrived in Vegas. Our motorhome a/c is working it's heart out, but it still got up to 89 inside the motorhome yesterday before the sun finally went down. Fortunately, it has been cooling down some at night. Basically, from 12 AM to 12 PM, we are moderately comfortable. The rest of the time, we pour sweat, drink water and generally feel like dying. Why does anyone choose to live here?!?!?!

On the family front, most things are going surprisingly well. I spoke with my cousin Richard yesterday for the first time in about 20 years (I told you all my family is fragmented). He and his son's Mom are not married, or romantically linked in any way, but they share a house and co-parent their son. That may not be the "ideal" family, but pretty impressive when you consider they had their son at 16 years old. Many "adults" don't put their children that high on their priority list, let alone teen parents from dysfunctional families.

Anyway, we decided to get together for an impromptu dinner at one of the many buffets in town last night. Originally it was just going to be my family and my cousin's family, but then it ballooned to include my Mom, Step-Dad, Sister and Grandma. My Grandma coming was the shock of all shocks. Let's just say, she is usually the source of the family chaos. So we all met, ate and generally enjoyed each other's company. WOW!! We are getting together again this afternoon for a BBQ. Who'd have thought?!!

There is just one teeny, tiny problem left to be resolved. My other cousin, Richard's sister, lives in Utah and is refusing to sign the consent to have their mother cremated. It's not that she is opposed to cremation, or has been asked to pay a penny of the expenses, or even that she wants to see her Mom's body first. She just refuses to participate in any way. According to Nevada law, they both have to sign. The only recourse Richard has left is to file for a court order to bypass his sister. In the mean time, he has to pay the mortuary $22/day to store the body (it's been over 2 weeks since my Aunt died). The courts won't even be open until Monday, and will cost more money that he doesn't have. This one could definitely use some prayer.

So for now, we will try to stay cool, and enjoy the fact that things are going much better than expected on the family front; at least with the family that's here.