In-Law Reunion

Kevin’s oldest brother lives in Hawaii. Brother #1 and his wife decided that they needed to take a trip to the “lower 48″ this summer. So they’re packing up their four kids and flying over to the mainland for a couple weeks.

When Kevin’s second oldest brother heard this, he and his wife decided that they needed to pack up their four kids and drive to the western US from Oklahoma to see Brother #1 and family.

And this of course, got Kevin’s older sister thinking that her four kids needed to see their cousins.

(Remember, I told you his family takes their reproductive rights seriously?)

All of this travel planning made everybody come to the conclusion that we needed a family reunion. So with 6 people in Brother #1′s family, 6 in Brother #2′s family, 5 in Brother #3′s family, 6 in Sister #1′s family, 2 for Kevin and me and 2 for Sister #2 and 2 for Kevin’s parents, that makes…

(Counting on fingers, hang on….)

29 persons. 15 of which are 10 or under.

All of Kevin’s siblings thought the best way to do this reunion would be to rent a giant cabin somewhere so we can all stay together.

Kevin’s mom called last night and he was talking to her about the options. She found a couple different places and she wanted his thoughts on the rentals. She said that people would probably have to bring sleeping bags and air mattresses in order to have places to sleep. Kevin told his mom that we might just get a hotel room for the two of us, just because there would be so many people there and we don’t own sleeping bags or air mattresses anyway.

Her response was, “We’d like it if you stayed with us. We’re all aware of Jill’s space requirements, but we think we’ve found cabins that will accommodate that.”

WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?

Physically I don’t take up a lot of space, so I’m guessing that it isn’t a reference to my size. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not overly gregarious or outgoing with them. But they all seem basically like strangers to me. I feel like I know some of you better than I know them. So I am usually pretty quiet, but I don’t think I’m stand-offish or anything.

And if they’re going to be “aware” of any “requirements” I may have, I want them to be aware of my internet access requirement.

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Leave a Comment to “In-Law Reunion”

  1. Poor, poor Jill. Hahaha. Your space requirments. I love it. Do you think you’ll still be able to stay at the hotel without them taking offense? Because then it would be more like a little vacation for the two of you with some family visiting thrown in. Oh and internet access, that’s the requirment.

  2. Angela: I don’t know. I worry about offending them but my husband doesn’t, and they’re his family!! I guess it depends on which cabin they rent. They’re looking at two and one is in a mountain resort town where we could get a hotel and the other is in a remote mountain area. I may die without internet access though. Then they’ll have to live with that guilt. ;-)

  3. That reminds me of when Jeff’s Nana was making reference to the fact that Jeff wasn’t at family functions anymore (we lived in Augusta, GA and they lived in Fort Worth, TEXAS!); she said, “Well, before he married Heather, Jeff was at everything.”

    I nearly fell out.

    The only reason they EVER see him is because I MAKE HIM plan it.

    How do WE get to be the bad guys?

  4. OrganizeHer: That is so true. We are always cast as the bad guys. I remember after college, when we were still dating, Kevin put on a few extra pounds. His family would look at him and say “You’ve gained weight. What did Jill do to you?” Like it was my fault, even though he worked 8-5 and I worked 2-11 and we never saw each other!

  5. Kevin’s family is a different bunch. You know I know that. Remember how they moved to Cedar City that one time… and moved again. They are special. As for me, to go to a cabin in the woods with family… well it is better than a tent. I would die if I didn’t have use to my cell phone and text messaging!

  6. Melissa: Yeah, and then they bought another house in Cedar and then they keep leaving for months at a time. And a cabin is definitely better than a tent! Yikes…..

  7. That reminded me of my work Christmas party when we rented a cabin and slept there. Yeah. I’m the only single one. So … so many children… screaming in the middle of the night… Actually, my coworkers are aware that I am overly sensitive when children are in the picture, just because I’m never around them. It’s funny. They try to plan events where no children come. I think they like the breaks, too.

  8. Cardine: Yeah, I guess I’m a little sensitive around lots of kids too. Maybe that’s what my in-laws mean by my “space requirements”.

  9. I think its a law of marriage that a family blames any perceived problems with their family member on that person’s spouse. I have an aunt and uncle who always choose to stay in a hotel when we have reunions. My mom (as well as half the rest of the family) seem to take serious offense at this, and they all seem to blame my aunt’s husband. I don’t get what the big deal is, but every time I try to say that to my mom, its like opening a wound and she gets all mad about it again.
    Also with me and Joseph. Anything I do that my dad doesn’t get…like maybe a movie choice or something…he makes it clear that it must be the influence of my husband that caused my ‘poor’ decision (even though, like my mother, I’m the bossy one in this relationship!)
    Joseph’s family are also strangers to me. I have nothing in common with them, and they always blame all of Joseph’s decisions or short-comings on me.
    I say, if you get married you better like your spouse, because you’re going to get some sort of veiled criticism for the rest of your life!

  10. Tearese: Sage advice…

  11. Like? Hmmm… all this time I thought I was supposed to love them. Hee hee.

  12. Cardine: That’s just a myth. :-)

  13. love is such a subjective word.

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