A Lucky Duck

My Grandmother used to tell me,
"You don't marry another person, you marry another family...so make sure you choose people you can live with until everybody's dead."

Sage advice. Though it is tough to vet all possible relations before you sign onto a joint checking account. I have listened to many a horror story from friends and family about the in-law(s) that seemed delightful in the wedding haze but was in actual fact, the devil. Right now I have a flurry of friends who are coming to this realization.

A smattering of rage-filled comments I have been witness to recently:
"His brother sells crack! Why did no one tell me this a year ago?"
"Apparently I am too white (asian/hispanic/native/catholic/gay) for my father-in-law to deal with."
"My Mother-in-law hasn't spoken to me in seven years."
"She addressed the package, 'To Paul and his Whore'...what do you think that means?"

Don't you just want to sympathize with these folks? Maybe give them a snuggle and say, "I know just what you're saying, in-laws are tough. We're in this together buddy." Unfortunately, I'm not qualified to reassure anyone.

The thing is... my in-laws are Magnificent.
Here's a for-instance: My Sisters-in-law? At our first Christmas gathering as a new family these girls realized that my Birthday is close to X-mas and were worried I might get overlooked in the present department. So they decided to take me out to English Tea for the express purpose of giving me birthday presents. Then they repeated the tradition EVERY YEAR.

When I became pregnant these two wonderful ladies deduced (accurately) that I was planning on skipping a baby shower. I had just moved to Austin and didn't know many people here. Plus my parties always suck. I am not gifted in the party planning department. Check out the next post to see what they did for me.