Going "home" to Louisiana...My In-Laws

- A quick funny story -

Little Kerry looked up at my stomach perplexed.

"What's that?" he asked pointing directly at my protruding belly button.

"It's a baby Kerry! It's your little cousin in there!" I replied excitedly.

(Kerry stares at the floor.)

"How'd da baby get in there?" He asks.

(I stare at the floor and begin to stutter nervously.)

"Well, well...that's kind of a long story. Let's just say it was magic!" I reply hoping that he'd "buy" my explanation.

(Again, Kerry stares at the floor and looks up at me with sad eyes.)

"Why...Why'd you eat da baby?" he finally asks, having concluded that his new auntie ate his little cousin in a rage of hunger.



In-laws.

These two words can invoke feelings of love, anxiety, and heartburn in anyone. How you approach your relationship with your in-laws is always a delicate matter and for anyone about to get married the only advice I can give you is BE YOUR GENUINE (INSERT ADJECTIVE) SELF from the very beginning.

I have observed that much of the stress that comes from in-law relationships comes from the tension or pressure that the new family member feels "to be ...(insert adjective)".

I explained to my husband a few days ago that if I was the biological daughter of his parents I would undoubtedly be the "Black Sheep." While his family is pretty laid back and quiet, I am fairly verbose with a slight touch of ADD (or to use my mother in-laws words when she first met me....I am a "big ball of energy"). Then when you consider my "city-girl ways", I surely wouldn't fit in under normal circumstances. My mother-in-law (who was a Sunday school teacher at the time) asked me during our first meeting why I had "gone and marked myself up" clearly disapproving of my tattoos (that is...the one tattoo that she could see - smile).

(Little did she know at the time that one of Patrick's first objectives upon moving to Chicago would be to get his first tattoo on his shoulder!)

Nevertheless, five years later my in-laws embrace me for me and love me for me and that is something that I am truly truly grateful for.

So going to visit Louisiana always feels like a trip home. Since we only get to visit once or twice a year, my father and mother in law make sure that we get our full helpings of crawfish, softshell crab, oysters, shrimp, and catfish. Needless to say, outside of seeing my family, going to Louisiana to eat is one of the things I look forward to the most.

More than that I have gained two sisters who I love, along with five nephews and two nieces. My son will have much to look forward to on his summers to Louisiana while his cousins show him how to play baseball, football, basketball, and chess.