SusanofO
Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005 Status: offline
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I fortunately never really had this problem, as when I was married, my hubby's mother had been dead for years, and his dad lived about 3 hours away, and we only saw him occasionally - plus, all of his relatives were fairly sane, nice folks. I truly lucked out. My sister had a slight in-laws problem, though. Every holiday, despite the fact she has a relatively high-pressured, part-time career, and handles all of the domestic stuff at her home, and has a son w/medical issues, her spoiled, rich sisters-in-law (none of whom work) won't lift a finger to ever prepare any kind of family-gathering dinners. Like Christmas or Easter dinners, birthdays, etc. She's prepared all of these dinners (for like 25 people), w/one or two exceptions, for 18 years, and was feeling totally taken for granted. She'd dropped a few hints it would be nice for someone else to host once in a while, but her hints were ignored. The one time one of her sisters-in-law did manage to host one holiday dinner, she (seriously) didn't even know how to use her own kitchen oven, and burned the meal, and they all had to go to a restaurant instead (kinda funny). IMO, these girls could use a few basic etiquette lessons. So this past Christmas, she sent out her usual holiday dinner invitations (to which they of course couldn't even find the time to rsvp, despite the fact they almost always show up, and bring un-invited guests with them besides). My sister waited until everyone arrived, and then she said to everyone (and she had "cleared" saying and doing this with her mother-in-law, a few days before-hand) : "Okay everyone, I have a big surprise. It might seem unusual, but I think it will maybe be fun for all. Hop in your cars, I am taking everyone to KFC for dinner." She meant it, and they did it! I admired her nerve. Her sisters-in-law got a little "huffy" over the perceived "quality" of the meal, but they got over it. My sister also announced at that dinner, that her work schedule was growing, and she doubted she'd be able to host any more holiday dinners for a few years. So now, she and they apparently all go to restaurants, since the sisters-in-law cannot cook to save their lives. It was extreme, maybe, for her to do that, but she'd "had it" - and it worked. Can't say I can really blame her for doing that, either. - Susan
< Message edited by SusanofO -- 4/14/2007 10:44:26 AM >
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"Hope is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson
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