This scale must be broken...

Sometimes when life tips the scale in favor of the problems you carry, you just have to laugh. Laughter is a lot more fun than crying and it really doesn't wear you out nearly as much either. I love to laugh, I love having fun. What I really don't like is making fun of people so I hope this little entry into the blog universe isn't taken in the wrong way. Laughing is my way to cope.

As some of you may know, my husband and I carry the responsibility of raising four kids as well as being the local "go to" gang for my elderly in-laws. They actually live about 3 houses down from us, and yes, we did buy our home for that very reason. It is a long series of tragedies that brought us to Utah from my comfortable home in Michigan, but the struggles of my 90 yr old in-laws are the number one reason this is where we currently reside. I never thought I would be in the position of raising kids and caring for elderly parents at the same time. I thought my kids would always stay young and uncomplex and parents would always stay energetic and amazing. Reality check...

Ready? Here are some of the episodes I must laugh at of late, with love and affection of course...

1. We have caller ID. The phone calls from down the street are AVOIDABLE, although we feel bad not picking up when we're busy and just can't. Everyone knows that who ever the lucky answerer is will be on that phone a looooonnng time. We do not have an answering machine message that is long enough for my mom in law.
2. "Who is the president?" If I had a quarter for every time my father in law has asked me or my kids this question in the last 3 months or so I'd be rolling in money. It is not possible to Boyd that the "wrong" man actually won. Our answer to this question is always followed by a warning for the sake of our children "It is Barack Obama, Boyd, and you do not need to comment any further in front of the kids." Yes, we know he didn't vote for the guy but this is getting soooooo silly.
3. Sunday dinner. As you get old, you get tired easily. Cooking and cleaning isn't done like it used to be. To ensure that my inlaws get at least one wholesome meal during the week they join us on sundays for dinner. So we usually eat at 1:30 pm (our big meal of the day) and they stay until about 6 pm (ouch). I guess a good meal and a nap on the couch is my gift to them. Although, when your asleep, little do you know what fun we have with you...

I have the greatest love for this couple. They are amazing people who have been through more in their lifetimes than I can ever know. I love them enough to leave my family and moved across the country, truly believing in my heart that it was the right thing to do. It's what families do. We've been here doing this almost 6 years and the scale in getting a little lopsided. This scale, I'm hoping is just broken and things are really better than they appear. I hope we all laugh in the face of adversity!