When i married in 1984, it was obvious that my in-laws were not ‘of The Park’. Dignified, smart, hard-working and quiet people — they also had this annoying tendency to mate for life. Celebrations of 60th wedding anniversaries are routine, and there are only whispered stories regarding divorces of more distant family members.
Over the years, our children quickly learned to expect different types of holiday gatherings, depending on which side of the family was involved.
When visiting the in-laws: Quiet dinners at beautiful tables, set with real linens and silverware made of actual metal. Candles. Many helping hands in the kitchen. The eagerly anticipated arrival of vans full of tired, happy people who had traveled great distances to be with family for the holidays. Holding hands at the table while someone says grace. Thoughtful, tasteful and practical gifts.
When visiting The Park: Chaos. Too many people crammed into a too-cluttered house, with smoke so thick you can’t see the dining room from the kitchen. Sandwiches and metric tons of cookies for dinner, with big, plastic 2-liter bottles of soda on the table. Boisterous conversation, while gifts and food are thrown across the room — mainly because there is no clear path to walk without stepping on a screaming toddler. People racing in to collect holiday loot, then racing off to go transfer the kids to the other parent to meet terms of custody agreements. Gifts that vibrate, sing or both…
One Christmas, after a nearly side-by-side comparison of these disparate environments, my children made the following observation:
“Mom, how come on Dad’s side of the family, you are considered the wild, free-spirited, crazy member of the family, but on your side, you’re the one who handles every crisis and all the important stuff?”
“Relativity…”
[sigh]
Trailer Park Refugee 
The terrible Goddess’s family and mine are very different – hers’ are all barking and mine are boring ……….. who would’ve guessed it?!!!?
Now about this grouting that needs doing …………
well i for one would choose your family any day… i have the “other kind” and my white trash ass has just never fit in…..
Perception is very different depending on the perceive-ee, hey?
“Relativity”, indeed!
Very good.
Carry on!
Of course you will!
Much love from the Bad Boy (of Baghdad-by-the-Bay)…
WT Christmas…Popcorn garland, lawn chairs with coolers as foot stools, and 5 strands of 10 yr old Christmas lights wrapped around 2 feet of gutter.
DP – guess all that “boring” drove you to be quite a lively ol’ sprocket in your “old Git” years!
cat – we’re all chameleons in our own ways…
toby – I’m on the other bay tonight, staring at the Atlantic with no electrons to speak of. Staring at the Atlantic is much more therapeutic, however…
uw – GAWD!!! How’d I forget the decorations?!?! When I was a kid, our house looked like Santa’s Whorehouse! You nailed the description!
paisley – found you in the ‘moderation’ file! it’s been a bad connectivity day! we certainly found holidays with the in-laws relaxing (sometimes with tension, as we couldn’t yell at each other when visiting!). on my side? never dull! and certainly the ‘Ex Trash Talk’ competitions kept things interesting!
You were obviously the chosen one to bring balance to the Force.
echoing kyknoord 🙂
kn – you are wise… hey. i thought you were working in the Belville office this week?
nm – considering adding ‘translator of environmental circumstances’ to my CV….
“When I was a kid, our house looked like Santa’s Whorehouse! “
Ha! Almost choked on my rioja reading that one. 🙂
az – it was pretty special! and the scary part? i loved it! looked forward to it every year…
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