Thin Line Between Quaint and Annoying

My in laws visited yesterday, and came in with their usual flourish --barking at Wifey, demanding I notarize some documents, smothering D2 with questions about school, etc...

I usually leave the house when they first come over. My father in law, when he arrives, is a man on a mission: he has to feed my pond fish, and then fertilize a cactus plant he keeps on our front porch. Then, he settles down into the couch, and watches the news and naps.

My mother in law always has "urgent documents" to be reviewed --usually ads for auto insurance, AAA membership, or things of that nature. Then there are matters of her burial plot --the purchase of which has taken well over one year --and problems with her Jenny Craig deliveries (I think she's the world's oldest eating disorder patient). Eventually she settles down, and watches a movie with Wifey.

Ah, Wifey and her parents. She's an only child, and a dutiful one. She acts as her parents' case manager, tech support (they can NEVER figure out their cell phones), and even lawyer (she successfully handled her father's smoker's claim in a class action, and got him a check for several thousand dollars).

After they left yesterday, we discussed her parents. We recalled how, when our girls were small, they were ALWAYS there for us. My mother in law considered it a privilege to change her granddaughters' diapers. They took the girls, 2 times a week, to the beach, insisting, in my father in law's words, that they needed "Good AIR!" to grow up healthy.

My in laws insisted Wifey and I go to dinner and a movie at least weekly. They lived (still do) for our girls. There was nothing they wouldn't do for them.

We recalled a day, right after we moved into our house, when Wifey was working part time. My in laws had moved about 40 minutes away. One of our girls was sick, and Wifey was home with her. Her mother called, and Wifey mentioned that (D2, I think it was) was sick, and Wifey was staying home from work.

In what seemed like 20 minutes, my in laws were at the door, hot chicken soup in hand, insisting they stay home and care for their granddaughter. They repeated that sort of thing innumerable times.

So, we concluded, that sort of love and devotion deserves respect and devotion in return.

My in laws are truly amazing grandparents --the best I know.

Still, I may, in all due respect, skip a few of their visits...