It's a good one, so for my "regular readers", I'm sorry. I must be running dry. This was my 151st story, although it's not. I've told the damn umbrella theft three times already!It’s an uneventful 8-hour journey. We’ve prepared ourselves with a lunch and goodies so we won’t have to stop too often. The ride was great, the kids were good and we persevered. We arrived in time. We were met at the door by my mother-in-law telling us that her other daughter and grandson were sleeping, and we needed to be quiet. She screamed this and would have woken the dead.
Next, their neighbors who were there to see the new grandchild, who by this time had woken up from all the noise, followed us in the house. We all gathered in the vestibule, too small to hold us all, and talked to the baby and delivered gifts and swapped stories. There were seven adults, two children and a baby squeezed in to space in between the doorway and the stairwell. There is not much room to move around, as everything at my in-laws is full.
Anyway, the neighbors left and we spent the afternoon talking and playing with the baby. It was fun. We had drinks before dinner and I had much. My mother-in-law had way too much, and she fell twice later that evening. However, she didn’t remember it the next day so it must have been OK.
Our friend the butcher arrived with his 89-year-old mother, who I’ve known for 17 years. She had no idea who I was. It was that kind of an evening.
On Saturday we played around, went shopping and bought toys for the kids and the kids went swimming at the local pool. Then we were going out to dinner.
My in-laws loved this Italian restaurant, but forgot they had no liquor license and you could bring your own. So, I took my father-in-law in my car, after we arrived, for a ride around New Jersey finding a liquor store and bought 3 bottles of wine and returned to the dinner. This took at least 45 minutes.
The food was great but the service was planned for leisurely diners, not people with kids.
My sister-in-law made us go at 6pm because she wanted to feed the baby there. She then fed the baby at 5:15 at home, so we didn’t need to be there early but we were. The place was crowded and we had appetizers and wine and waited.
Finally, after much waiting, the food arrived. It was great, but five minutes into the dinner my sister-in-law asks, “When we were kids, did we have a dysfunctional family?” (as if it wasn’t such now!)
I wanted to leave, but couldn’t stop laughing, my wife was so angry it took three days for it to end, my in-laws were answering and my kids were in wonder. This was not a good scene.
The bathroom door at the restaurant was locked and it never opened. I believed the person inside had succumbed to dinner. It never opened the whole time we were in the restaurant.
We had dessert and coffee, and left for home the next morning.
We left with no packed food, as my wife wanted out quick. We did have some goodies from the butcher in the food box. The kids had lots of toys, and 9 ½ hours later we were home.
We were tired and happy to be home and vowed to not do this again, at least not right away.
Currently, my wife and one daughter are in New Jersey.
it must be safer for everyone if you are left at home Arthur!!
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