‘Tis the season for receiving handmade gifts you wish you never knew existed. Here is one reader’s situation: “One Christmas, my mother in law knitted me a scarf…. “It sounds mean, but I cannot fathom wearing it in public and she has never seen me wear it (because it’s pretty much never seen daylight),” wrote BodealaMode. “Am I entitled to my […]
more about: family
A New Baby, a Toddler and …House Guests for the Holidays? Ho Ho Ho
Major dilemma! “I have my mother in law and her female friend coming to visit for the holidays,” writes patina21. “They are staying for two weeks. … “We have a three-bedroom house, a 2-year-old and a new 4-month-old baby. I only have one guest room. I have a futon in our game room, but the game room doesn’t have the […]
Pardon My Bed Bugs
What if you’re about to host a big family gathering and a few days before the event, one of the guests sends this email: “GUESS WHAT?! We discovered bed bugs in our apartment this morning.” Happy holidays, indeed. There I was the other day, setting the dining room table for 16, when I got the news that two guests were […]
Do I Have to Refrigerate My Peanut Butter?
From the Pantry Head-Scratchers Department: For much of my life, my mother made me suffer through all-natural peanut butter. On apples, on celery, on toast, on sandwiches, you name it. It was “healthier,” “better for you,” “had no preservatives.” Of course, according to younger me, it was also “a giant pain,” “impossible to stir,” “too hard to spread half the […]
Table Manners, Thanksgiving Style
From my office, I can hear the whir of the electric mixer. It’s Thanksgiving morning, the place is full of guests, and someone is sautéing onions for the stuffing. Bless that person. Our dining room table has two extra leaves, and expands to comfortably seat 12. When 16 of us sit down to eat this afternoon, we will try to […]
Demystifying Dad
For years I struggled with how to befriend my father as if he were just a peer, just a normal person. But there is something silent and mysterious and austere about fathers, even the ones (like mine) who are funny, happy, mostly forthcoming guys. In 2004 I had been living in a different city from my parents for seven years […]
