Saturday, December 29, 2007

The in-laws have left the building

I love my in-laws. And I'm being serious, not sarcastic. But I also love when they go home! And they left just an hour or so ago after a six day visit. Which felt like a day and a half too long.

Grandpa's constant criticizing teasing of the kids about what foods they don't like to eat.

Grandma's allergic reactions to our dog.

Grandpa's outbursts every time someone in another car did any little thing the he perceived as poor driving.

Grandma's many criticisms questions about our house. (Did you know it would be this color when you painted? Do you really like this carpet? Did you think about putting the couch against that wall?)

They can be fun to be around. We put together puzzles. We played Scattergories and Spinners. We went out to dinner and a movie. But for some reason, everyone seemed to be struggling to be on their best behavior this year.

And now they are on their way home. We have our house back. And almost immediately, all five of us went to different rooms for some peace and tranquility. We've had enough "together" time...and now we just need some quiet time.

So if you call today, we might not answer the phone. We'll be enjoying the quiet.

25 comments:

furiousBall said...

next time, have the kids eat the dog. that way grampa is happy with the culinary variety and it would also get rid of grandma's allergy issues

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they, too, are happy to be heading home, which is why I have abolished interaction with my in-laws & C.

Liv said...

huh. so you don't want me to call, then? because i feel like we really have some catching up to do.

Michelle said...

Oh I hear ya on the inlaw thing...lol I love mine, too...but it seems the older they get, the more critical they become. They have become less patient and it is harder and harder to be on best behavior. *sigh* Yep..there ARE good times, too......but sometimes, unfortunately those get overshadowed.

Enjoy your quiet....!!! :)

tulipmom said...

When it comes to my in-laws, D. and I agree that 3 days is the max. After that, the old saying about fish rings true.

Glad it's just the five of you again. Happy New Year!

Kati said...

LOL Glad to hear that you had a "good" visit with your inlaws, but I hope they make it home very safely and y'all have a much needed break from each other. *grin* I think there's a reason for the saying "you can't go home again" and I think it has to do with the fact that a healthy, previously semi-normal adult could go insane being around Mom & Dad all the time, again. *grin* Not to say we don't love them, but in doses, not all at once.

Have a good time relaxing without the running commentary on your lives!!!!

whimsical brainpan said...

I hope you get all the peace and quiet you need.

meno said...

I am ever so glad that my parents live close. That way they never stay more than a few hours.

Redneck Mommy said...

I sooooo hear you. We spent a three days with my inlaws (Boo's entire family) and while it was fun, it was even more fun LEAVING.

Have a happy new year, Em.

Robin said...

Still giggling over furious' comment. Well, at least the inlaws like to play games. No one I know does....

Gretchen said...

My inlaws have been at the airport now for about an hour and are about to fly, fly, fly far away to CO for another few months. We love them too, but there's only so much "walking farts" from Grandma, nose picking from Grandpa, overall non-showering lack of hygeine, and lack of table manners of both that we can take. The sheets are going into the "sanitize" cycle in just a few minutes. Who cares if we use all the hot water in Seattle. We have guests coming tomorrow night, and I won't have them smell traces of the grandparents. :)

Love them, but 3 days is about my max-out. Glad that there are kindred spirits out there, feeling my pain and need for tranquility!

Big Brother said...

I'm lucky to have great inlaws. I've always said that if Mrs. BB and I divorced I'd go back to my mother-in-law and she'd go back to my mother. But I agree having someone live in your house for a week can get old very fast. So does having to sleep at someone else's house even if you get along really well. When we go to visit my family, we always take a hotel room to have some privacy.

CS said...

Six days sounds like about 4 days too long to me! Those criticisms disguised as quesitosn are the best. When my former MIL (who is actually a very nice person) looked at all the painting I'd done and asked if I might do something with wallpaper, I nearly choked.

Jocelyn said...

Well that explains it.

I've been calling for hours.

But no.

You don't pick up.

Enjoy the relief.

Rainbow dreams said...

Wishing you a very Happy New Year Em...
we always breathe a sigh of relief once family have left and we are free to just be ourselves again..!

Bruce Johnson said...

My new years resolution is for more quiet time....a lot more.

jillie said...

They do that because they can get away with it because they are "grandpa" just like you will be some day....LOL!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year to you and hopefully see you again!

cheers ;o)

wisdomstuff said...

Enjoy your quiet time. It's way underrated and togetherness can be way overrated. Have a great New Year!

thethinker said...

The exact same thing happens after every holiday at our house. As soon as the relatives leave we get to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we know the story well. At long last it is also quiet and peaceful here.

Best of everything in the New Year for you and yours...

Charlotta-love said...

I actually struggled with having all of my family home. I felt as though I should maximize any time I had with them since it's usually only once a year I see them. More often than not though, I could be found in my room with a book or on the phone. I needed space and could only handle my family in small doses of time. Family: can't live with them, can't live without them.

Melody said...

SOmetimes having the family close has it's advantages - they only ever visit for a few hours at a time. Us, on the other hand, who have all our family over 3000k's away stay with us and (usually) too long. Not that I mind at ll, afterall the littliest memeber of this household *loves* her Grandparents to bits. Sometimes we can't get far enough from them...

Anette said...

My inlaws live in another country, so we see them once every year or so. But when we do, they stay for a week. Thats enough for all of us. We say: "Nice to see you come, and bloody lovely to see you go!" In a kind way of course. And they say the same after we leave their house after staying there for a week. My parents live in the same town as we do, I bet, if you add up the time we see eachother, it comes out to be about the same.

Radioactive Tori said...

My husband's mom does the questions about the house too. It used to bug me a lot, but now I just laugh and file it away in my "never do to my own kids" mental list.

Happy New Year!

TK Kerouac said...

I'm redoing my link list and wanted to know if you'd like me to keep you linked

my blogs are

tkkerouac.blogspot.com (private)
tkcensored.blogspot.com
tkfinderskeepers.blogspot.com