Thanksgiving Part 2: The Inlaws

gcvmom

gcvmom

Here we go again!
In about 3 hours, if you have a moment, please utter a small prayer for my sanity as I will be arriving at my in-laws for their Thanksgiving gathering.

This will be the first time the entire hoard of poster children for mental health neglect and dysfunction will be assembled in one location in many years (there will most likely be 18 of us). I expect the stress levels to be at an all time high for husband and his sibs.

Although I had another gall bladder attack last night and thought it was God's way of showing me Divine Mercy and bailing me out from having to go, I'm feeling fine this morning (I guess I'm not so special after all) so I figured I'd bring two bottles of wine to sit quietly in a far corner and share with two of my brother in law's who also prefer to lay low during similarly dark cosmic events.
 
DazedandConfused

DazedandConfused

Well-Known Member
I'm a people watcher and I suggest you be one too. At least for today. Stake out your corner and spectate, wine glass in hand. Note any juicy details and please relay back. :)

husband family doesn't get together anymore now that his Mom has passed. He has a brother and sister. They're in their 60s (husband was born much later) and have had a lot of issues (alcohol, DUIs, arrests) after her death. If we were all to get together with our kids, three of them difficult children, it would be very, very, strained, or at least, very, very interesting. I know that when husband's older brother had a nervous breakdown about ten years ago, the one issue he went on and on about was how differently, or less strict and more loving, he believes their Dad treated husband. Of course, he wasn't angry at Dad he's angry at husband!

Sending you lots of serene and positive juju!
 
KTMom91

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
My sympathies. Any holiday with Husband 1.0's family was like that, full of underlying dark drama and unresolved issues, and I always managed to offend someone inadvertently that would have permanent repercussions, meaning they swore they would never speak to me again. Of course, I was never that lucky...

Hope the afternoon passes quickly.
 
gcvmom

gcvmom

Here we go again!
I'm still here. Fourth glass of merlot and they're only slightly annoying now. I think it's gonna require the rest of the bottle to render me completely immune to the b.s. :winks:
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Are they using small bottles or large glasses? A bottle for normal people is a fifth if memory serves.
 
gcvmom

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Regular bottles... but my first two glasses came from a different bottle than the others. Anyway, we are back home now and all in all it was a tolerable day. I just kept my mouth shut and kept my distance. mother in law and sister in law#2 were at there usual best of irritating everyone. brother in law#1 could barely contain himself when sister in law#2 started barking orders at him. He did the smart thing, though, and just left the room. Even her husband was shaking his head at her behavior. husband did very well to hold it together until the drive home when he started to fall apart and got very testy over seemingly innocuous stuff. Guess you can only expect him to hold it in for so long. He's hiding up in our room now (as usual) playing Spider Solitaire and watching TV. Decompressing, I suppose.

So I've got a reprieve now until Christmas Eve when we get to do this aaaaall over again!:jumphappy:
 
tiredmommy

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
I've had a similar week, so I understand.

I knew things would be strained at my sister-in-law's this week: younger brother in law's family (with two young kids) were visiting from NC, mother in law has been in rare form for quite a while (she's quite the pita), developmentally delayed sister-in-law is always a treat since she's never received any training in table manners (or manners in general, for that matter) and father in law is a racist (and likes to talk politics, economics and religion at the dinner table). So.... I brought 2 large bottles of red wine and a large bottle of UV cake flavored vodka. Sister-in-law has earned it. ;)
 
buddy

buddy

New Member
my cousin just posted they were having whipped cream flavored vodka! I am gonna ask her about cake flavored.... I never had heard of that...
 
gcvmom

gcvmom

Here we go again!
My sister in law#4 told me about that whipped cream-flavored vodka -- she said it was really good and that it was best in something like a dessert-type martini.

Lately, though, I find myself preferring a dirty martini with lots of blue cheese-stuffed olives!
 
Star*

Star*

call 911........call 911
I'm so sorry -----if I had to go to your husband's family gatherings? I'd be long into eating pickled eggs, pickled beets, pickled snickers, uv vodka, microwaved gin, ultrasonic ripple......and washing it all down with a few Mother's little helpers, then faking an injury so heinous that only a year sabatical starting Christmas Day would cure....I would ALSO require three rolls of duct tape and handcuffs for the potential outbursts and hand gestures that may or may not arise because after this many years married to him I'm sure you couldn't fake an onset of Tourettes.
 
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