The In-Laws Have Decamped

Christmas was brilliant.

After the mishaps of Christmas Eve (the restaurant I'd settled on for Christmas dinner lost our reservation; the drycleaner was closed, preventing us from retrieving Child One's dress and Child Two's coat; Peter still suffered from the malaise of not knowing what the hell was wrong with his truck), Christmas Day worked out pretty well.

We ended up in The Stanhope for dinner, which was pleasant, even though they didn't have turkey on the menu for Dad. The service was friendly and patient (considering we had three children ages 10 and younger among us), the food was decent, and the dining room was an architectural beauty, friezes along the ceiling and that sort of thing.

Then we went to Sibling One's to open presents, but her husband dispensed the wine too frequently, and I went out of there in danger of falling on my head.

Got good gifts, though. Mom and Dad gave cash, and the aunt who doubles as my godmother came through with a gift card to Lord & Taylor, which I will use with glee.

The next day, Sunday, the in-laws arrived with Peter's niece and stayed until this morning. Peter's niece and the offspring were out of their minds with excitement over the prospect of spending three nights together and hopped around like kangaroos until after 1am.

Guess who got stuck on the couch supervising? Well, I volunteered; I was hostess, after all.

My mother-in-law took over the next night, but by then the little critters were wiped out. She and Father-in-Law babysat yesterday so that I could visit Mom in prison, er, I mean, the nursing home.

(This morning, Mom told me, the rough aide came into her room and shouted, "WAKE UP!" My mother responded, "And good morning to you, too!" The aide, who is not inured to this kind of response, laughed her head off, sending in one of her coworkers to see what the ruckus was about.)

Today the in-laws headed back to Flushing with the niece in tow, but not before I heard Father-in-Law exclaim to Mother-in-Law, "This sucks!"

Wonder what that was about.

For New Year's Eve, we may go to A & M's party on Long Island. It's a long drive, so we'll sleep over. Nobody else is bringing their children, but since we don't have a babysitter, we don't have an option. Not sure I want to go under those circumstances.

But it should be a good party, and if I miss it, I may regret it.