In My Head
My in-laws are lovely people. They are very generous to us, and we all get along quite well. That’s all that anyone could ask for, really. So I feel some latent Catholic guilt when I say that Brian’s mom is quite a handful.
It’s not that she’s rude or mean. She’s just EXTREMELY talkative and high-energy, the ultimate extrovert. And if you’ve been reading my blog lately, you’ll remember that I am quite the introvert. So to spend an extended amount of time with someone who is my polar opposite really wears me out.
We took the day off on Friday, and they arrived at our house around noon. I had put together a casual, make-your-own-hoagie lunch for us, and afterwards we took them to walk around Valley Forge Park for a while. I was hoping that would take the edge off some of her energy.
Well, that was not the case. In fact, she was more hyper than ever. We got home around 4 p.m. and I decided that I’d have to start drinking heavily if I were going to last for the rest of the night. So I popped open a bottle of pinot grigio for her, and mixed the first of many Fuzzy Navels for me while preparing dinner (which was delicious, if I do say so myself—I made chicken piccata, roasted red bliss potatoes, and a copycat recipe of Texas Roadhouse green beans with bacon and onions. Mmmmm!).
After dinner, we chatted for a bit, then watched Walk the Line. Yes, I just now FINALLY got around to getting it. Outstanding movie, by the way. I can see now why Reese won the Oscar for best actress. She was phenomenal. I’m still puzzled that Joaquin didn’t win best actor, though. His performance was beyond great. However, I’m still waiting to see Capote, so I can’t draw any comparisons between him and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
After the movie ended, I could barely keep my eyes open. So I excused myself and went to bed, which I think disappointed her. I guess that was a little rude…the hostess going to bed before the guests, but oh well. I needed to escape the chatter before I ripped out all my hair.
I woke up on Saturday at 7 a.m. and took a loooong walk by myself. Then Brian and his dad went golfing, as they always do, so it was up to me to entertain her. Of course, it was gorgeous on Saturday, sunny and in the 70s, but we spent most of the day inside at the King of Prussia mall. Brian’s cousin is getting married in June, and his mom and I were looking for dresses to wear to the reception.
After five department stores and four hours, we must have tried on thirty gowns each. She finally bought a dress at Lord & Taylor for $140…and I found a fabulous, floor-length chocolate brown dress on the clearance rack at Strawbridges for $40! Yahoo, baby! I was thrilled by the bargain, since the dress was originally $180. Both dresses are beautiful, but I swear…if I heard her complain about how flabby her arms look, I thought I’d have to slap the taste out of her mouth. The woman is a size six. Give me a fricking break.
We got home around 4:30 and started getting ready to go out to dinner. My parents came up to the house and we went to a local restaurant. I was so relieved that they were there to carry the conversation that I sat at the table like a mute for most of the meal. Afterwards, we went back to the house and had cake and coffee. My parents headed home around 9:30, and I just barely made it throught the first half of the 10 o’clock news before announcing that I was going to bed. She must think that I am totally lazy, but I don’t care.
They left yesterday morning around 10:30. By 10:33, I was fast asleep on the family room couch.
It was a successful weekend, but I’m kind of glad his parents live 350 miles away. I’m not sure if I could handle her energy level on a regular basis. She’s so high-strung that I just want to lay down and go to sleep after spending a few hours with her.
However, I know that many people have it worse than me, as far as their relationships with their in-laws, so I do realize how lucky I am.
Labels: bitching, family, marriage, movies, shopping, stress, weekends
