Sometimes someone does something nice. It’s kind of a miracle, really, as there is so much fucking hate in this world. Oh, hell, I just spent a month bitching about pretty much everything. But I’m forcing myself to think about good things… trying to, anyway… because it seems my recent good mood is trying to slip away.
Is it just me or is a conversation with Mom always comforting? [I know, people have all sorts of relationships with their moms…] Well… my mom called last weekend. [This is not unusual – she calls every week… ish.] It was just to check in… to say hi. And it helped me. Maybe it’s because I love and miss that feeling of being a little kid… having Mom there to take care of me. I never had to worry about anything. [Until I was about 13… then I started to worry about everything whether warranted or not.] Back to Mom, though… Somehow, it almost doesn’t even matter what we talk about… Mom is just comforting. Oh, and she tells me good things about me. Many I don’t see in myself. Maybe it’s pathetic, but I need to hear it… completely unsolicited… because she just thinks it. I guess it’s what moms do.
[Aside: I didn’t post this thinking of Mother’s Day this weekend… I just realized the coincidence now.]
My father-in-law (fondly referred to as ‘Papa’) has been coming by our house for little chunks of time whenever he can to work on a shed he’s building for us in our backyard. It isn’t costing us anything… because he’s awesome… and because he enjoys building things… and because he needs to get the hell away from my needy, pain in the ass mother-in-law. [Of course, she is the reason for the multiple short visits. He can’t leave her alone for long periods… just in case she has an issue, whether truly health-related… or all in her head.]
You’d think Papa would love when my husband (let’s call him John) is home from work and can help. But Papa told him, in the nicest way he could, to go away… because Papa likes to work alone. That made me laugh. ‘I work alone,’ like Batman says. It was the nice version of, ‘Get out of my face.’ Those would have been my words, though. Papa’s were far kinder.
I’m hoping that when the shed is done, John will be able to live in it free up some space in the basement. That would really be a perk.
©2017 what sandra thinks
what sandra thinks 
Ha! We call my FIL Papa too! And he has to constantly be building something as well. Free is good! Glad you’ve got others blowing sunshine up your skirt. Believe them. 😃😃
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When my son was very little… first started talking… we told him my FIL was Grandpa but it came out as Papa so that was that… 🙂 Oh… and probably best for me not to address what should be going on up my skirt. Ahem.
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😃😃
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It’s good to get away. Clears the mind and relaxes the soul for a bit. It’s why I go running. Of course, it’s good for my health. It’s also good for the kids’ health that I go.
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It’s good for everyone when I go for a walk. (I’d love to run but my knees don’t think that’s a good idea!)
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These are great perks! I wish I had that kind of relationship with my mom. Mine is a horror. I’m happy you have that comfort, that’s how it should be! The FIL sounds like a hero!
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My FIL does a LOT for us. I guess in that way, it’s good that my husband is an only child. (Although in some ways, it’s bad that he was… selfishness, etc.)
I’m grateful for the relationship I have with my mom… but I never had that with my dad. It makes me sad especially now that he’s gone but I don’t think it can be forced…
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Nope, it either is or it isn’t… My mom wanted me to be ‘just like her’ – she even tells me versions of that statement to this day. I’ve hugely disappointed her. And as much as I know that is her problem and not mine, it never ceases to sting.
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I know what you mean. Even with something is someone else’s problem, it still hurts.
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This is a nice post for the weekend. You are lucky to have a mom who gives you compliments. We are also nana and papa ago some, grandpa and grandma to other grandkids. I’m happy with whatever they want to call me 🙂
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Mom doesn’t do it so much that I think she’s full of crap… but enough to show me that she notices things I do or how I look sometimes or whatever. Know what I mean? 🙂
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I do and I’m glad. I try to do that with my children. It’s important no matter what age you are!
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I agree! 🙂
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I feel the same way when I speak with my Mom. She always makes me feel good about myself and that helps when the days kick me in the ass. Which they seem to do non stop these days. And it’s nice to have someone be concerned with you when it seems that all you ever do is look after others. It’s the little things and Mom’s always seem to know just the thing. My Mom tells it to me plain so it means even more. Your FIL sounds like a jewel.
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I hope my kids see me this way… if not now, someday. At three moment, they’re getting to that place where mom is embarrassing… pretty much no matter what I do!
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Enjoy the time you have with your mom, whether by phone or in person, and treasure the time you have with others, like your FIL. I lost my mom 12 yrs ago, my MIL before that, my FIL about 5 or 6 yrs ago now. Amazingly both my grandmothers are still around (96 and 93). And isn’t it fun to be the mom that embarrasses your kids? I enjoy the hell out of it 😀
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My mom is amazing (I have no idea how she handled 4 daughters). I wish I lived closer to her… and I am only an hour away now. But of course, she won’t be around forever. I lost my dad 5 years ago… and my 93 yr-old grandma the following year.
I try not to embarrass my kids… I really do. But if I do anyway, it’s probably because I don’t know I’m doing it! My son, especially, just started middle school… oh, I don’t want to make it harder on him!
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