Well Thanksgiving went off without any problems and was enjoyable. My in-laws are great people and I enjoy spending time with them but my wife's step-mother's mother is someone that I do not care for and apparently the feeling is mutual. She said she would not be at dinner this year because my wife and I would be there, more specifically me though.
Now this is a story that goes back about 4 years and a previous Thanksgiving. We were all sitting around watching a football game and my then 7 year old was in the room with all of us. I do not remember the specific play that went down but she (step-mother in law) suddenly went on a rant about how "Negroes" (not the word she used) ruined the game and how they were worthless blah blah blah... I had all I could do to not rip her head off but I bit my tongue and excused myself. I did not want to be the guy who forever ruined Thanksgiving. After a cooling off I returned to the room only to have her pick up where she left off. This time I did not hold back and told her what I thought of her bigoted self and even though she is entitled to her opinions she should refrain from using that language and hatred in front of my children. This continued through the years with her making snide comments every chance she gets culminating this year with her refusing the invitation and citing me as the primary reason. Without her there it was a most enjoyable few days with the in-laws.
My step-mother in law is a recent cancer survivor and has just recently completed chemo therapy. She looked great and was as spunky as she has ever been. Amazing how some people rebound from their sicknesses. She even quit smoking cold turkey because of this and has been smoke free since July, so kudos to her for wanting this to work for her. Since she lost her hair during the process, she had some really nice wigs which of course I forgot were wigs so I ended up chewing on my foot right as we walked in the door. I commented on how good her hair looked that short and as the words finished leaving my lips I remember she was wearing a wig. D'OH!!!
Pain management over the few days was decent. The long road trip was a pain and trying to get comfortable in the car seat was difficult but was not as bad as I thought it would be. I took the max dose of my pain meds before getting in the car so I am sure that helped mitigate the pain factor and once we were at their house my father in law gave up his recliner for me to use during our stay. I think without that it might have been a more difficult stay as the only other place to sit was a chair that did not recline (and slid around a lot because it was on a hardwood floor), the couch which is one of those designed to be seen and not used or the hardwood floor. I tried my best to not hog the chair and sat on the floor for a bit as I did not want to seem like a jackass, but sitting on the floor was a mistake and soon after I did sit down everyone was yelling at me to get in the chair. I was not saying anything and am sure that my facial expressions were not those of pain, but they still yelled.
Anyway, it was a good few days out of here and an enjoyable time with the in-laws. While they live within a few hours of us we do not get there as often as we would like. Our schedules are very different and time off together is difficult. My father in law owns his own express delivery service (the trucks are those dodge sprinters) that runs nationwide so there is no telling when he might have to be on the road for a few days. He loves what he is doing and oddly he started this business to have something to do since he is retired. He and my father are a lot alike, my father also started his own business (IT Recruiter) to have something to do during his retirement. They don't do it because they need the money but rather so they are not bored to death.
One thing I did miss while being gone was my daily link to the internet. While they do have internet there it was not wireless and was set up in the basement which would have seemed rude if I went downstairs and spent the amount of time I usually spend online that I normally do (about 10 hours a day). I do have an extra wireless modem and some PCI cards for the laptops so I am sending them to my father in law since I have no use for them. Since we will see them again in a few weeks for the holidays I will set it up for him and show him how to set the WEP up as well. It would also allow us to have longer stays with them as I can bring my work with me (I work with my father) and continue to do what I need during the day while my wife goes shopping with her step-mother.
Hopefully all of you had a great Thanksgiving and spent it with those who you love and care about.
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