As soon as they posted it on social media, I was cleared to spread the news. My daughter was engaged!
It wasn’t easy for me to wait … when I received her phone call, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! But it was their news; they should be the first to announce it. I had to say that over and over to myself to keep from picking up the phone.
As it turns out, this would be one of many similar occasions. I was just being practical … I wanted to PLAN! However, the newly engaged couple had other ideas.
That is, I think they had other ideas. But I wasn’t exactly sure because they weren’t sharing them with me! So, I promptly mailed a wedding vision board kit and detailed guide with worksheets to help them with their planning. Both landed in their mailbox with an actual and a proverbial THUD. They weren’t interested.
In some ways, I’ve thought that my future son-in-law is a lot like me. He is an engineer. I love tools. He loves tools. I’m a problem solver. He’s a problem solver. I’m practical. He’s practical. I like to get up early, and so does he. Need I show you more proof?
But then, this happened during my last visit …
As I was fixing breakfast for us, I opened the trash can to toss in the eggshells. And right there—still in its plastic sleeve—was a whole package of pumpernickel bagels. My daughter’s favorite! I immediately fished them out, held them over the open can with my foot on the pedal, and then put them back in the can. A lot can race through your mind in a moment like that. Were the kids arguing? Were the bagels flung into the trash in the heat of the moment? I didn’t want to make things worse or get in the middle of anything.
But curiosity finally got the best of me and a ridiculous conversation ensued. Ridiculous, on my part, that is. When I asked my future son-in-law why the bagels were in the trash, he answered simply, “Mold.” Which should have been enough … but oh no, I wanted to know how many bagels had mold and how much mold there was. Was the mold on every bagel, or just one? Was it on the outside, or the inside? I even went into a long discourse about how moldy food led to the discovery of penicillin. I launched into a story that painted a picture of prisoners who lived through the plague. They emerged from those dark dank dungeons because they had eaten moldy bread!
Let’s just say that he was not impressed with my imagery … nor with my story of the Dark Ages.
We’ve all heard stories about crazy mothers-in-law. Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda starred in a very funny movie that I recently watched again. And I am going to use it as a reminder—a cautionary tale of what not to do in my future role.
So, why was I making an issue about tossing a five-dollar sleeve of bagels? I don’t know. Maybe I need to watch the movie again. It does have a happy ending, and I know I definitely don’t want to be a Monster-In-Law.