Will it or won't it? Is she or isn't she?

I've had all of this glorious time off.  Eight fantastical vacation days (which equals weeks, ultimately) saved over the work year - which sometimes took more willpower than I knew I had not to use.  There were so many months strung together during the year where there were 'holiday droughts,' and it was all I could do not to give in to the temptation of using one of my hard-earned vacation days for a slightly longer weekend.

Oh, I know you understand all-too-well what I'm talking about. Can I get an "amen" from the congregation?

And with all of this time, I totally thought I could (and had plans to) kick into gear the final cleaning frenzy to make the place ready for Christmas and visits, very small gatherings, and one special guest.

Mom was scheduled to arrive late in November and be with us into December, but that changed.  Then the new date blew by without any fanfare, which bumped into the dastardly-timed Snowmageddon.  

You know what I'm talking about.  That much-forecasted blizzard that stopped all travel and turned out the lights for hundreds of thousands.  The monster storm that slapped the ever-loving snot outta much of the country...sure, you remember it.  But not us.  Nope.  MI saw nothing like the rest of the mid-west, great plains, and Ohio Valley received.  Well, maybe the U.P. had a snootful of the powder, but the L.P. managed to duck it successfully.  Go figure.

Anyhow, she (yup, still talking about mom) scheduled and canceled because temps were going to be drastically low, and this is a concern for her in the land of Lake Superior.  So, out of fear for her plumbing, she has opted to stay home until after Christmas.  Yeah, I get it, but by the time she does get here, it will be time for me to head back to work.

Did I get the cleaning completed?  No, but I am still renovating, so there's always going to be some sort of clean-up going on anyhow.

Work related - sort of

People always ask me, "How do you do it?  I would never put up with that," they say, "...the way [unnamed person] talks to you.  Why do you let them?"  Others ask, "Don't you ever feel like just leaving when it happens?"

Don't be silly - of course I do (EVERY DAY), but here's what they don't know:

Personally, I think those people are simply jealous.  [insert internal laughter]

"[Unnamed person] is mine!" I tell them, "And you can't have them."  To which the automatic, and very swift response is, "I don't want [unnamed person], you can have them!"

Yeah, that's kinda what I figured.

There are days when the thought of smacking this person upside the head with a handy portion of a broken pallet is quite appealing, but then reality creeps in. 

Where would I hide the body?

How much digging would it entail?

Would it be worth the possible jail time?

Most importantly, do I get to keep all of my paid vacation time and quarterly bonus?

Hey, it pays to be objective.