Imaginary Kingdoms

There is an irony in the Czar's title... if it walks like a duck... talks like a duck.... it's a duck, right? So yes, he barks orders, makes his own rules, utters the occasional "off with his head"... he is king of the castle...

But no one told him that beyond the walls of our house lies a whole world that operates on a different set of rules...on the value of the individual. As in every individual... not him... the individual. But when the Czar climbs into car, heads to work or the golf course, he believes his rules still apply. He's the Czar at work... he can do no wrong. He's the Czar amongst his friends... they can do no right.

Have you ever tried to grab a speck of something in a cup of water, only to have it go farther and farther each time you get close? A recent explosion of anger from the Queen resulted in an outburst from me. I told her that I had recently gone to the ER with abdominal pains, the result of an ulcer... which I had aptly named after her and the Czar. I had pain meds flowing through an IV and spent the better part of 2 weeks trying to recover. Did she know this?

I don't know what I expected. Some sort of epiphany on her part about how she and the Czar drive me to such head-splitting anxiety? There was no acknowledgment of my recent medical dramatics, and instead she lamented... what did she do to deserve such blame from me for things that are my own fault? Hmm... that IS a mystery.