We always go to my married son's house for Christmas. My dear DIL loves to entertain, they have a big house, and she has a larger family than we. Now, I love my DIL - she is a joy. And her mother, my "co mother-in-law" is a wonderful person. But she has two brothers - one is really nice, recently remarried, to a really nice woman. The other, however, is a real jerk, married to a real bimbo, and their two kids are badly, badly, badly spoiled.

So imagine my delight to find that this year it was just my DIL and her husband, my two other sons, my co-mother-in-law and her boyfriend, and a friend of my oldest son whom we've sort of adopted as his dad is dead and his mom is in a nursing home - and no jerk and no bimbo and no spoiled kids.

For one thing, the intellectual level of the day was much higher, and we were able to have conversations that didn't focus on the last terrible thing the last contractor did, or the fight she nearly had in the supermarket. It was a really, really fun day, and truly pleasant in every respect.

Not nice of me, I know - but it was a wonderful Christmas.

By Conni on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 07:33 pm:

LOL! Glad to know I am not the only who has thoughts like this. ;)

So glad you enjoyed your Christmas Ginny!!!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 08:51 pm:

How wonderful, Ginny. My nephew is on his 3rd major girlfriend now in the last 10 years. The first one I found hard to talk to. She was nice enough, but sometimes seemed rather demanding. The second was nicer, but I still didn't really know what to talk to her about. This third one loved the gifts we bought her and just seems a little more down-to-earth. We had a nice conversation at one point and I had no trouble talking to her. Maybe he will marry this one! I think she would be a good addition to the family. The last two girls seemed a little too "high-maintenance".

Also, people seemed a little bit more at ease with Gary's dad not being there anymore. We were talking about him and laughing at good memories.