Let me just say that I can't help but get this crap off my chest.
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My MIL was having a discussion with the Princess...
MIL: So, do you have a tree?
Princess: Yes!
MIL: Is it a big tree or a little tree?
Princess: It's a small one. We don't have room for a big one at the townhouse.
MIL: That's not right. You should have a BIG one!
Ummm...She's seen the size of our townhouse. Where the hell would we put a BIG tree? We might have been able to put our big one up if you'd let us store our formal dining room set in your den.
She had a conversation with my hubby regarding what stuff we had in storage. My hubby explained that we had our formal livingroom furniture, china cabinet, & other large pieces in our big storage unit. One of her responses in the conversation was something like..."Yeah, I've had those china cabinet shelves in my house forever! "
Oh my gosh! The glass china cabinet shelves. She has them in her den agains the wall. There are THREE glass shelves about 4 feet wide and 1 foot across. Like these things take up a whole lot of space? How are these three shelves causing you any discomfort? It's not like you hang out in the den! All that you've got in there is your computer!
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We were chatting about how cold it's been lately. She explained to me they used to keep a faucet on just a little when it was freezing cold in Chicago. I then mentioned to her that we woke one morning to no water. I told her that our pipes had frozen. I explained that the pipe that leads into our townhouse runs up from the ground outside our exterior wall and then into the townhouse (so it's exposed). I told her that I had to call the maintenance department and that the guy used one of those tiny gas torches to warm the pipe. Her response? "How cheaply do they make those townhomes?"
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A little while later she told us about how her car wouldn't start one day. She took about 5 minutes explaining the tale. I nodded & acted interested. I then told her that on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I'd loaded the kids into my car to do an errand & my car wouldn't start. I told her the roadside assitance guy explained that it had been SO cold the last few nights (in the 20's) that my battery had just gotten its power sucked out of it. I took less than 2 minutes to relay my story & she couldn't have looked less interested if she tried. Umm...I listened to your tall tale lady. Couldn't you at least SEEM interested in mine?
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She asked the Bear to put something into the room that has the kids' toys. He did exactly what she asked him to do.
MIL: So he can understand! [in a surprised voice]
Hub: Yes.
MIL: Wow! [like she couldn't believe he understood]
Lady, my kid can't say a whole lot of words but he can understand a bunch. Just talk to him. You'll see that he takes direction just as well as his sister when she was his age. Understanding words & speaking don't go hand in hand. Those two skills develop at their own rate. My boy isn't dumb lady!
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Some of you might wonder why I don't put her in her place? Because I'm married into the family. It's up to my hubby to put her in her place. I keep my dad in check all the time. I tell my folks how it is. I'm not rude to them. I just let them know where I stand. They know I'm an adult and they need to respect how my family unit functions. Right? So when it comes to my hubby's side of the family he needs to step up to them. Not me. I stay quiet and in the background. I swallow the bitter bile that creeps up my throat whenever I hear rude remarks from my MILs mouth. If I did step up on my own? My hubby's ENTIRE family would hear how I'm such a horrible person. Why would I think that? Because they all talk about each other. I know for a fact that my MIL has an opinion on one of the other married in girls because my MILs sister doesn't care for her. So my MIL is treating this girl a certain way based upon what her sister says. Not what my MIL has experienced with this girl herself.
Which leads me to this last blurb about my MIL. She was explaining how she knows some people who have an opinion on someone based upon a third party. She was saying how odd it was for those people to have any kind of opinion since they didn't know that one person. They just relied upon that third person's relations with that one person. I couldn't believe that story was spouting out of my MILs mouth. I almost visibly gagged that I was so shocked. She does this ALL the time! She's such a hypocrite! This is one of the reasons I don't have the best relationship with her. I stay guarded and only convey generic information to her. I just don't TRUST her with any important information.
Remember...when I told her I was pregnant with the Princess? She said "Was it a mistake?" There was a pause because my hubby and I couldn't believe she asked that question. Then she said "Or were you trying?" Shouldn't the first words out of her mouth be "Congratulations! When are you due?" This was going to be her FIRST grandchild. Shouldn't she have focused on the joy of the event rather than ask if it was a mistake? Now could YOU trust someone who reacted that way?
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The joy of spending time with my MIL will continue for Christmas. Yes! We'll be spending Christmas with my ILs. [choke-choke-choke] It's unfortunate but true. So be forewarned that I'll be spouting off more stupid statements she's made in a couple weeks.