How Do You Say Goodbye?

This whole army-Edmonton thing wouldn't be so damn hard (especially since I got into Grant MacEwan!) if it weren't for my parents. I'm wrestling with how to tell them that I'm moving to Edmonton without sounding ungrateful or anything like that- which with normal people would be fairly easy- you pick your words and you talk to them in a calm voice and you lay out your facts and they respond accordingly. Not with my parents. No no no. Once my parents get a wiff of what I'm trying to tell them they'll jump on me and start asking questions so fast that I can't get the answers out in time- oh I'll have the answers, I just can't explain all the intricacies of the army and moving with the army to them at rapid-fire speed. So once I'm overwhelmed by trying to answer all their questions so fast they'll start to lay on the guilt and the sanctions- which inevitably will make me start to tear up because whenever I'm confronted with authority I tear up. My father will pick up on this and press his advantage- until I'm full blown crying at which point he'll declare that if I can't have a mature discussion about it then I'm not mature enough to move to Edmonton with my boyfriend and leave the room. It doesn't help that my parents are morally against me living with Scott- the idea of their baby girl living with her boyfriend scares the bejeebus out of them.

So I have two options- go in there, preface with the request that they hold their tougnes until I've said my peice, and if they refuse or reneg then I re-itterate what I said before and if they still won't shut up and let me have my say tell them that I'll revisit the topic with them when they're ready to have an adult conversation and leave before they can get a wiff of my fear.

Option number two is I completely skirt the whole issue of having this big, looming face to face and give them the letter I've been painstakingly authouring and run- and then have the face to face after the dishes have been smashed and the steam is no longer coming out of their ears.

Of course I have a third option- which is a nice little hybrid of the two- give them the letter and then run, and come back when the dust has settled to have THE TALK.

Oh happy day, what shall I choose?

Oh the upside Scott and I have talked to our rental agent and she seems to know what we're looking for, I have a clear design vision for what our apartment will look like once we get an apartment, Grant has changed my status from "applicant" to "student", and I'm in a nice position of not having to much work to do once this strike finishes.

On the downside this strike isn't over yet and when I drop this little bomb on Mama and Papa kinda depends on when my classes end.

I just want all this to be over so I can move my ass to Edmonton and have done with it. It's bad enough knowing I have to go to Edmonton when Scott's here to go to Edmonton with- but in three short weeks he'll be gone, and I'll have to be here waiting to finish this DAMN degree so I can follow.

ARG!!