Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Brother-in-Law is here

And has managed, in less than 24 hours, to talk (loudly) about oral sex, Jennifer Love Hewitt's breast implants, every bowel condition known to medical science, the fact that abortion is perfectly acceptable and embryonic stem cell research is morally ideal (and Bush is singlehandedly preventing all scientific progress) because "it's just a cell! You can't SEE it, it can't say 'ow!' or anything," etc.

It amazes me that a man can live 56 years and STILL not realize that some topics are not suitable for conversation with children...and that some topics are best left to parents to communicate with those children. But I can't change him, and am not going to try. Instead, I pull aside Son #3 and remind him to avoid discussions of religion and politics...especially with Uncle. Fortunately, #3 is too busy preparing his next statement, to pay attention to the more vile things Uncle has to say. And I must admit I am proud of him for standing up for his beliefs, and just as proud of the other three for muttering "we're all entitled to our own opinions..." in the back seat of the car.

He also mentioned that MIL told him that our boys "can't write". Thankfully, when I explained that that means they have atrocious penmanship, he laughed it off-as he and his brother and plenty of other successful people also have horrible handwriting.

Am I a little miffed that she has presented my family as illiterate oafs to Miss Ullman and anyone else who happened to attend that particular dinner? Yup. But, hey, school starts Monday.

All in all, he summed up our home as "a great place for kids to grow up, if only you weren't Republican". I think I can live with that.

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