Flipping to the A Side

Ugh ... my mother-in-law is visiting me. For the record, we are on day 10 and counting. Her date of departure is somewhat up in the air, but she has so kindly offered to stay until sometime next week. Just how many swear words can you string together in one sentence?

I know I shouldn't complain. After all, she is a nice lady and a great grandmother to my children. She would also do anything for me, which is wonderful and heartwarming. It's not that I don't love her, but it's quite an adjustment to make whenever she comes for one of her visits.

For one thing, she's an avid soap opera fan. I thnk she watches four a day religiously. The hours between 1:00 and 5:30 p.m. are spent on perched on the edge of my family room couch, nodding her head vigorously to the asinine cliched scripts of All My Children or Days of Our Lives or whatever the hell it is that she watches (take your pick ... they all churn out the same idiotic far fetched drivel).

For another thing, she is somewhat of a negative thinker. The glass is never half full. She came back from a one week, all expense paid vacation to Vegas, courtesy of my brother-in-law and his family, in celebration of her eightieth birthday. Not once did I hear a "Gee, I'm so lucky that someone cares enough about me to take me to Vegas and make sure I have a good time". All I heard was her complaints about how my brother-in-law and his wife raised their kids, how they were made to wait for thirty minutes prior to checking into their hotel and how much of a prima donna she felt one of her grand daughters was. Yeah, okay, so she got to go see Celine Dion, Wayne Newton and gamble to her hearts' delight (she can spend hours at the one armed bandits), but someone else is a prima donna?

Anyway, I suppose I'm focussing somewhat on the negative by complaining, and God only knows, I don't think of myself as being a negative person. I should instead, try and think about all the great things she brings into my life. It's hard though because sometimes we all end up gritting our teeth when she blathers on and on about something that has bugged her (a long list). But okay, here goes:

Good Things My MIL Brings to My Life

1. She is obsessive about cleaning my kitchen, hence I can slack off whenever she is around (although when she is gone, reality sure hits hard);
2. She is always willing to help out and watch the kids -- no easy task if you've ever been subjected to the Terrible Three;
3. She never forgets a birthday or anniversary and always sends a card containing a cheque -- also no small potatoes when you consider the fact that she has nine grandkids;
4. No matter how much of a pain in the ass we have been, she has always helped us out in times of trouble, and there have been a few, and more importantly, she has never once reminded us of what she has done, nor made us feel that it was done begrudgingly. To me this is probably the most amazing thing since my parents consistently go out of their way to make me feel as though I should be indebted to them eternally for the most basic things (like feeding me);
5. She thoroughly enjoys and loves my kids unconditionally.

Well, that was a good exercise for me. Because really, it makes a visit with my MIL seem somewhat more tolerable in the face of our history together. Of course, as soon as I finish this and go downstairs and subject myself to about fifteen minutes worth of her, I may be fleeing back up here to review my list as though it were somewhat of a mantra, but the important thing is that I at least have a list, right?