Out of the Frying Pan...

I'm in a little respite from insane in-law wackiness. Ok, technically, I don't have any "in-laws," since I'm not married, but it's easier to say "in-laws" than it is to say "Lots of Cory's family."

Plus, I like the alliteration of "insane in-law." But I digress.

Last week, Cory's mom visited. Cory's mom's sister's boyfriend's son (got that?) was graduating from basic training at Fort Benning, and so Chris hitched a ride with them to Columbus.

I love Cory's mom. She's great. However, there are some things she does that completely befuddle me. For example, she always brings her own towels and pillows when she visits people. Does she think we don't have towels and pillows? I can understand the an extra pillow when you're going on a long road trip, so we'll forgive her for that one. But the towel? It's not like we had eight people visiting us and we'd be running low on towels.

Also, she has an obsession with her children. I guess all moms are like this, but it gets a little weird. She gets up in the morning, and watches The Weather Channel to see what the weather is supposed to be like wherever Cory and Casey are. Then she frets all day if they're supposed to get bad weather. Oh, and she really worries about Casey's dog if the weather's going to be nasty.

The thing that really killed me on this visit was her fascination with the fact that I know a priest. When I was at my reunion a couple weeks ago, Cory met an old friend of mine, who after graduation got his law degree at U of M, then went to the seminary to become a priest. He now works for the Archdiocese of Detroit as the Chancellor of the Archdiocese.

So, Cory told his mom that I'm friends with a priest, and it was like he'd told her that I was friends with a rock star. "Oh, I just think it would be so neat to know someone who was a priest."

Don't get me wrong. Bob (that's Father Robert to you) is a great guy, and I'm thrilled that he's found his calling. But it's not like he's her priest. Or even a priest in her Archdiocese. He's just a guy that I happen to know who happens to be a priest.

There are a zillion other things that I find a little peculiar about Chris, but those are a start... and now that she's back in Missouri,

...And into the Fire

"In-Law insanity" continutes as Cory's dad will be in town this coming week. For those of you who don't know, Cory's mom and dad have been divorced for about 25 years.

But here's the thing: It isn't just Cory's dad (Mike) that will be here... it's also Cory's dad's Girlfriend (Karen). To make things even weirder, Cory's 12-year-old half-sister, who he's never met, will also be here (and if you want that story, you'll have to ask Cory).

Cory won't be able to take any time off while they're here, so that's going to be a little strange, too.