Grrrrr **Updated**

It is highly annoying when I am waiting for a response back to a phone call or text. I sent my father a text about something important that needs to happen like now. We spoke about this previously and he said to just contact him a little later letting him know what day would be good for us. A few days ago I asked if it would be okay to do it on Thursday (today). He sent me a text back saying he would have to get back to me. Then, on Thursday itself, he sent me a text saying that Thursday wouldn't be any good because "something came up" and he wouldn't be home. Um. Okay? He then sent another text asking if tomorrow (Friday) would be good for us. I said, "Yeah, no problem. I just need to know what time." I figured that since he suggested the day he would have a time frame in mind. I was mistaken. He said "I'll have to get back to you. Love you." I simply responded by telling him that I love him too.

This was all at around 11:30am today. I have been waiting since then for him to get back to me. Finally around 7:30pm I sent him a follow up text. I tried my best to make it seem very nonchalant. Like, "Hey pops.. just wondering..." type thing. A half hour later I still hadn't received a response. So I called him. No answer. I left a voice mail saying, "I wasn't sure if you had received my text so I thought it would be best to just call."

I know damn well the text went through but my dad is one of those people who absolutely hates to be what he calls "badgered". If he feels that is happening he will either a) not respond at all or b) push things back even further. So when I need to get a hold of him about something important I am normally stuck just waiting for him to get back to me or to wait a good long while and then try again while being very calm about it and acting as if I don't mean to bother him.

I do, in fact, mean to bother him of course. But I know the man way too well to push my luck. I honestly think I'm the only one in my family who knows how to "handle" my father. My mother never did which is part of the reason why they got a divorce after 25 years of being together. My brother is exactly like my father in so far as his attitude. If anything he is worse because he is obviously younger. When my dad was younger he was worse than he is now. He had a much shorter temper. My brother pretty much matches how our father was 25 years ago. My dad is going to be 52 in about a week and my brother is 29. This is part of the reason why my father and brother don't always get along.

Meanwhile here I am playing by my father's rules so things don't blow up in my face.

I'm just really hoping that my father gets back to me at some point tonight before he goes to bed. Never mind it's 8:40pm now. *sigh* I have a feeling that I'm going to wake up to a text from my dad with either a last minute time to show up or for him trying to put it off another day. I'm hoping I'm wrong and he does actually get back to me in the next hour or two. It would be nice.

**UPDATE**

Well, here it is a little after 1am on what is now technically Friday. All evening I have been waiting on a text or call from my father. About 10 minutes ago Master was on a social networking website and mentioned that apparently my father is home because he just posted something. So I not so subtly commented on it telling him to check his text messages. I put a stupid little smiley face at the end to kind of soften it. Like I said, I know how to "handle" my father. And what do you know I get a text not even two minutes later. He apologized and said he had just gotten back home. He told me that he has an oil change appointment tomorrow at 1pm and that he would call me after that was done.

Annoying point number one is that it makes absolutely no sense to wait for him to call once his oil change is done since it takes us about a hour to get down there. So why not just have us meet at your place at 2pm? But no. That's not how he wants to handle it so whatever... So rather than doing anything makes sense I'll have to wait for him to get home and then call me saying it's okay to come down so that we can head out and get there a hour later.

Annoying point number two gets on my nerves a lot. I had jokingly asked him why he was getting home so late. Apparently the thing that "came up" as to why today wasn't good for us to come down was because he went out with a bunch of old high school friends. Excuse me?!

*deep breath*

His high school reunion was about a month ago.. Okay maybe not a full month but pretty damn close to it. He will freely admit that he was highly unpopular in high school and will tell you how much he absolutely hated it. But hey, now 35 years later all of a sudden he's the bell of the mother fucking ball. Apparently going out to hang out with his new found high school buddies and going out because "he needed to" was more important than getting this done and out of the way as it would resolve a couple of things for Master and I. There is a damn time frame! A pretty short one actually and here you are pushing us off another day because your 51 year old ass decides he wants to feel 18 again for a night.

Now... did I say any of that in text or respond in any way, shape, or form as if it bothered me at all? Hell no. This is my father we're talking about. I damn well know better. So I said, "Gotcha. Well, just let me know once your oil change is done when it would be okay to come down."

I understand that he is under stress over my grandfather, his father, and everything that comes with that situation but seriously? It's not like anyone else is stressed out. Nope. Not at all. I am perfectly fucking relaxed.

*sigh*

Given what all is going on though all I can really do is vent to Master who is in the exact same situation I'm in so it's mainly just preaching to the choir. I can't blow up at my dad. That would be very, very bad for me. I'm just hoping that he doesn't call us tomorrow after his oil change and push it off again. I won't yell but I will speak up a bit about how this really, really needs to get done.