We had a lovely Easter.
Went to Mass, then to my dad's house for an Easter Egg hunt, and, then hit the road to MIL's house, about 2 hours away.
It was especially nice because 2 of Busy Dad's prodigal family members showed up.
The BIL Who Stays Away actually showed up. He's Busy Dad's oldest brother whom no one has seen in about 5 years (Mechelle, this was your wedding partner, I believe). This was the first time he had ever seen The Preschooler Formerly Known as Busy Baby.
BIL Who Stays Away had not stayed away from a beer or 10, though, but that was no huge surprise. He's a nice guy, I hate it because he has so much more to offer than that.
Busy Boy and Busy Girl are now old enough to catch on to it, but they handle it well, they like their uncle. The Preschooler Formerly Known as Busy Baby obviously doesn't see that he's drunk, but, still had a big time with him.
Busy Uncle may wake up with a few Preschooler Formerly Known as Busy Baby-inflicted wrestling wounds he might not remember getting.
BIL Who Won't Go Away's son (our 20 year old nephew) also showed up. It was great to see him, he is doing so well after a spell of not doing so well.
Busy Nephew was raised mostly by his mother, and, was told that his dad's family was no good, etc., so, as he got older, he didn't come to our family holiday gatherings, etc., and, lost all contact with my MIL (his grandmother, who was probably the one stable force in his life for a while) even though they are in the same town.
He's a good kid, I have some guilt because we probably should have taken him, and, sent him to high school here. Long story, but, he dropped out in March of his senior year. He is incredibly smart, and, it just never should have happened.
My kids love him, and, haven't seen him in forever. Busy Girl and Busy Boy used to play with him for hours on end. He's about 8 years older than Busy Girl, but, he has always been so good with them.
It was kind of odd to see him interacting with Busy Boy like a "guy" rather than a kid, and, Busy Girl was sort of awkward with him because...well, I don't know why. Time has passed so quickly.
Anyway, it was a nice time, and, now it's back to the salt mines for me while my family lounges yet another day, courtesy of the Catholic School system
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You're good to have such kind words for the in-laws. There's no accounting for family or the husband's family for that matter. I've got my very own prodigal BIL. I can SO relate. Also have my own transient and misguided brother who loves children and prefers to tousle with them after smoking a bowl, taking three Valium and drinking a six pack. You know, after giving it some thought, I'm kinda thankful we all had the stomach bug this year and were effectively quarantined.
Have a happy day.
Ah, Catholic day off here as well!
And I understand about family members opting out of family. I haven't seen one of my brothers in about 6 years, just because he decided that his family was just no good. Sad, really.
Bottom line, you can't control other people's decisions, and those people truly miss out.
It's hard, I know. xoxo
Hooo - neither of my kids got today off. I'm going to keep it a secret that other Catholic schools give today off. What do they call it? Good Monday?!?
Sounds like you had a nice Easter! How nice that your kids have the day off. Our Catholic schools here have school today, though they were off on Friday, of course.
Golly, you are downright newsy today, Mom. Best wishes to the whole clan.
We had some interesting family dynamics on Easter too. It's always an "interesting" time when certain relatives are around.
Just wondering... your family reads your blog, I assume? How do they feel about this dirt-spilling, anonymous though it be? I, too, spill a fair bit of dirt, and because of that keep my blog off their radar... but that feels weird sometimes, too.