My mother-in-law may be the most amazing person I know. I think she and I are exact opposites. I am always asking what is in it for me and she is always asking what can I do for someone else. I have only heard her complain about something one time and she really did not say anything, I just knew she was unhappy about something.
She comes from a great family and grew up in Eastern Oregon. Her father was an important local figure in the LDS church while she was growing up. She spent a lot of time with leaders of the LDS faith that would stay at her home while they visited for meetings or whatever. Her family hosted these leaders because her father held one important calling or another. She has many funny and great moments and stories about things that happened with her and these church leaders that would stay at her home when she was little. She was the youngest in the family of I think 6 children. At least 6, maybe there are 7 counting her.
I have mentioned her mom, grandma Idon, who as far as I know could literally walk on water. She was an amazing person that I got to know before she passed away 5 years ago or so. I am sure her father was equally amazing from what I hear, I never knew him.
One story about him I like took place back in the 60's and 70's. Back then you paid for hotels by the number of individuals that were staying in the room. That is true today to some degree but it is nowhere near as enforced as it was. Now it is more or less just a room charge as long as you don't pack the room with 20 people you are probably good. So when my MIL was little she remembers this amazing father of hers telling all the kids to duck in the car when they would pull up to the hotel to check in so they did not have to pay all this extra money per child.
This is so not a big deal to me but it makes me feel better about something I do in my life. All my life I have done this. I am not capable of going to a restaurant of any kind and ordering a soda for everyone in my family. If there are free refills I let my kids drink my drink and I take advantage of the free refills. I don't even feel bad, that is how crazy I am. I will often order water for my wife and kids as a cover up for my dastardly deed. Most of the time if we will let them all have soda then I will get 2 or 3 for the whole family at the most, but never 4 for my family of 6.
I think it is probably wrong to some degree. I have rationalized it that they don't drink that much but I remember doing this with girlfriends before I was married and then have done it with Daisy even when we did not have kids. I always got a soda and a water and we both drank the soda.
I feel better getting that off my chest but I think I will continue to do this, probably forever. Nobody is perfect thank goodness.
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7 comments:
everybody needs a vice.
Boy, I would've like to have been that date...Do you think you could just order water and then we can share my drink? Great, thanks. I'll bet that made some first impression.
way to shatter your perfect image. reminds me of a recent conference talk about the newspaper...“Jim, for 25 cents I can maintain my integrity. A dollar, questionable, but 25 cents—no, not for 25 cents.”
i've been thinking of a good title for this post all weekend and i have NOTHING!
this is one of the few shady pleasures that i can still sneak by danika and i always feel like i'm getting aways with something when i do it. she's a real letter of the law gal and has broken me of most of my shady habits, like getting a 4 year old in the theme park theme park as a 3 year old, downloading movies/music, etc. she's always looking over my shoulder, and for good reason...
Is sharing the all you can eat salad bar ... in that category??? I'm thinking... yes!!! Although we do try to be quite sneaky about the whole thing. But I think they guess that I won't eat 10 chicken wings by myself... just following after the footsteps of my dad!
I just don't think about these things either, unless it is in hindsight. Every now and then Bonnie will wonder if she did something unethical by emailing at her work or something (and usually that is for something practical and non-frivolous), and I'll be like: "Ooooh, you can email. You should blog!" I am slowly getting an education in ethics ... oh so slowly.
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