Sunday, November 30, 2008

One Last Gratitude Post

Have you ever suffered from a broken heart, dear friend and devoted reader? Well, I have. It was so sad, as broken hearts generally are. When it became evident to me that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was no longer interested in me, I was completely bereft. I was sure that no boy would ever like me again, that I would never marry, that my eggs would all rot away inside my body, unfertilized, blah blah blah.

Even in the midst of my I-can't-believe-it's-over angst, I knew one thing for certain: that even if I did manage to find another boy who would succumb to my charming, womanly wiles, I would never love the new boy's family like I had loved the family of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

When I was with that family, I felt like one of them. I could stay up talking to him until one in the morning and then go into his sisters' bedroom and chat with them for another couple of hours. It was like chatting with my own sisters. We had so much in common and it was really easy to be with them. I loved the warm feeling in their house and enjoyed exchanging letters with one sister when she was on her mission. It was wonderful and unique and I knew that it couldn't possibly happen like that all the time. Frankly, it only added to my sorrow when he broke my heart.

I first met most of my Michael's siblings on my wedding day, after I had married their brother. We had no history of late night heart-to-hearts. I was right that my relationship with my in-laws is different than it was with that other family, but I don't know why I worried. I love my in-laws and wouldn't trade all their fun personalities for all the "we're so much alike!"-s in the world.

Cousin Love

This Thanksgiving we went to my brother- and sister-in-law's house to feast. The kids were all great as they played with their nine cousins in attendance. The adults had fun chatting, joking and laughing at each other, as we always do. We had soooo much food that even after 13 adults and 14 children ate until they couldn't eat another bite, it looked like most of the food was untouched. I even managed to make enough rolls that there were left-overs (a phenomenon that has never before occurred at a Hunter family gathering)!

Six of us crammed onto the couch sardine-style to aid in our digestion. We were trying to get ready to move on to dessert. And laughing at my Michael sticking out his belly. Seriously, you've got to click on the photo to see the full hilarity. It was awesome.

On Saturday, another brother- and sister-in-law treated all the nieces and nephews to tickets to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, the parents of the kids all bought their own tickets to see the show, as well. I wasn't sure if I would like it, truth be told, but I must confess: I'm a believer now! It was amazing! The show was so entertaining--for young and old. I'm sure I would have liked the show no matter what, but the whole experience was made more fun by sharing it with many of my siblings-in-law and nieces and nephews.

Two families escaped the Big Top area before I got my camera out, but here are the rest of us!

In this final post of my "BE Grateful" month, I want to explicitly declare how grateful I am for my in-laws. I love these people. I was right when I thought I'd never love my in-laws the way I loved that other family. I love them more! I love their generous hearts, their quick wit and their never-ending hugs. I never could have imagined a better group of people to have as a family when I married!

18 comments:

Christie said...

AWWW, it's so good to know that someone else out there loves their inlaws like I love mine. They are truly my family. PS love michael's belly

whitney allison said...

fun pictures! Glad you had a good holiday.

Jenni said...

That's so sweet!! It looks like you had very fun Thanksgiving! That picture on the couch is hilarious!!

Ashley said...

It looks like you had lots of fun! Your family is beautiful!

laura said...

Man, you're lucky. My in-laws...whew, it's tough.
Ha, Ha! I can relate to your post 100%. Love your guts.

Kellie said...

Awesome. I will live vicariously through you, my friend. I loved reading this.

Jann said...

The pictures are awesome. I love how happy you all look. I can see you all had a wonderful time together.

Life In a Blended Family said...

I love your in-laws also and think they are spectacular...no bias whatsoever here...your pics always make me homesick on all that I miss living out west instead of east but I love that I can feel part through your blogs and pics.

Tracy said...

So glad your eggs didn't rot and you managed to seduce another man. What a fun time you had! Love the skin shots of your man!

Jammin' said...

I so admire you wit and intelligence. That's my old companion:)Hey, I need your address so I can send you a Christmas card. Maybe, go to my blog and leave it and then I'll erase it so not everyone will have it, unless that's what you want:) Thanks. Such a great blog, by the way. Truly inspiring ( how the heck do you spell that?)

erin sheely said...

Yeah!! I am so glad that you love your inlaws. It's a lovely thing.

Cami said...

Very fun post, and AWESOME picture! I'm glad your inlaws are fun.

Heidi said...

I loved all of your gratitude posts. I'll have to try it next year!

Anonymous said...

Very cool that you have a great relationship with your in-laws! Good for you, seriously...its not always easy to get along with someone else's family!

Amber said...

The best part is how many fun cousins and cousin memories your children will have. Love it.

supersonicjan said...

Yay for great in-laws!!!

Anonymous said...

Mendy, so glad to have found your blog :) I enjoyed this post because it brought me to tears thinking of the family I miss so much and because I just had a similar heartbreaking experience. Fortunately I was not as devastated as it sounds you were. This post reminded me to have faith to overcome and hope for an even better relationship. Thank you!

Love,

Daniel

p.s. the belly is awesome

Dawn said...

Mendy, where are you? We miss you!!!

Quotation of the Month

There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.

-Jill Churchill