Time to enlist those "coping strategies" that we all know and love, for the mother in-law will be swooping in to visit for a week starting on Friday. She comes armed to the gills with coma-inducing sugar, annoyingly high-pitched voices, and enough delusion to make you question your own grip on reality. I think that my greatest annoyance is that I cannot change her or her attitude towards what makes people happy, or perhaps get her to recognize that the things that make her "happy" are not what make me happy. I'm an introvert, having found my solace in a dark corner of my closet with a flashlight and Beverly Cleary at the age of twelve. And frankly, not much has changed about me. I simply don't "do" meaningless conversation because it stresses me the fuck out. Can't stand weather talk, and I think the how's-your sister/brother/parents questions (I prefer to answer all with "fine") are nosy.
So in summary, I do find her to be someone that I wouldn't want to be friends with on a personal level, let alone my mother-in-law. And I stress out for at least a week before she comes and visits because our house is so small and her presence is so big that it seems like she's EVERYWHERE. And she is. She can't be alone by herself. She needs to be where she can talk to people. Talk talk talk. I am little worried since they are going to be with Q during the day for 5 days, but they will get their fix and hopefully go home happy. But I have reservations about the easter basket filled to the sky with sugar and cheesy $1 gifts, but we'll see.
The Governor, in contrast, will probably have a blast. I think he'll be fine. He is so opinionated, even these days. He is starting to develop these "organizational" habits, like always putting his juice in the fridge, and having to turn the TV off ("I wanna doo eet!") when the DVR has finished playing his Dr@gon T@les, or putting all of his trains in neat rows. He asks for "Thirty Kisses," which is this thing we have developed to help him count to thirty. I kiss him thirty times, and he has to count. He picks up on numbers and quantities faster than sounds and letters, but he picks up singing and tunes very well (including the "Scooby-Doo" theme, which I believe he's only heard once or twice, maybe?).
So to summarize: deep. breaths.
Posted by equilibrium-girl at March 14, 2005 09:00 PM