The holidays can be stressful -- so full of expectations and the pressure to create great memories for years to come. I even found them stressful sometimes with my own family. This is my 3rd holiday season with the Fredas and for some reason I got myself worked up into a frenzied ball of nerves this Thanksgiving -- not sure why, perhaps it was because I hadn't done my yoga for the week ... or maybe it was Anthony's fiesty red-headed sister Elizabeth saying my mom's sister's name (Corliss) sounds like a W.A.S.P. name to her, or maybe it was when she said she hates liberals as she stared at me pointedly, but then I have to remind myself that she's half crazy and her particular mix of anti-depressants, marijuana, coffee, and cigarettes all of which she uses habitually and in massive amounts, is probably more to blame for her outbursts than any real feelings of animosity towards me.

"Your sister stresses me out," I tell Anthony when we have a moment alone.

"You act as though you're dealing with a sane person," he tells me, "Remember, you can't take anything she says seriously."

Ah, a strange predicament. What does one do with a crazy woman? And the weird thing is, she can be so loveable one moment and so irritating the next -- the day after her weirdness she was hugging me, apologizing, and offering to give me one of her special Shiseido facial massages. She doesn't even remember half the crazy shit she says anyway -- when I moved here from Texas she said to me in genuine amazement:

"You moved all the way from Texas to America?"

It would be funny if she hadn't been so serious when she said it. This coming from a 33-year-old woman, I knew I was in trouble. So back to my original question, what does one do with a crazy woman? Ignore her? Laugh at her? Respond? What? I haven't figured it out yet -- at least Thanksgiving is over. All of the rest of Anthony's family is really great. I love his mom and dad so much!! And his other sister, Christine, is also wonderful and our friendship seems to be steadily growing every time we hang out. So what to do? I guess I have a few weeks to think it over until the next family get together -- Christmas...