Skip to main content

Nonna Out

My mother-in-law, aka Nonna, aka My Baby Gramma, flew back to Houston last night. She was with us in Berkeley for 2 weeks before our big move, flew to Honolulu with us and stayed for 11 days. For most people, having their mother-in-law hang out with them for a month during a stressful transition period would be a recipe for disaster.

However, when I married Erin I hit the mother-in-law jackpot. I really don't know how we would have survived this move without Marie. She took care of Owen when we needed to get away, but never told us how to raise him. She never complained and never meddled. She helped us pack, did the dishes, helped with laundry, paid for more than her fair share. But most importantly she was great company and a fun person to hang out with. Who could ask for anything more from a mother-in-law?

Hurry back, Nonna!

Comments

mama mia said…
Miss you all and I haven't even been home a full day. You are too kind, John....it was really my pleasure to lounge around in paradise, whether Berkeley or Hoenoeluuuluuu. First day in a long time that I didn't get to go to fun beach or fun wee. I am having withdrawal....where is my baba?!
Anonymous said…
My mamma is SO cool! Are you jealous that I get to go there in October? I am SO excited, I can't wait!
Did you know that Nonna has also: (1) calmly asked me to remove a vomiting friend from her own bathroom in her home in Houston; (2) reacted in a calm, cool, and collected fashion when I, while sleepwalking, attempted to use the door to her backyard in her bedroom as a toilet; and (3) been careful enough not to disclose publicly the contents of my underpants from adolesence?
mama mia said…
I would definitely love to join you there, Amy....better save my $for another trip....wishing I could see the Johnson "belongings" in the new digs in Manoa....
Hey ghost, was that Patrick in our bathroom, or Gabe? both incident (1) and (2) were on the same night, if memory serves me right, New Year's Eve?
Anonymous said…
Patrick, and the ghost wasn't sleepwalking...he was drunkwalking. I think the ghost did something similar at my apartment in the heights, too. ;)
Only I was successful in micturating on both your couch and the cushions on your dining room chairs in the Heights. I also recall there was an issue with your toilet flushing in the wrong direction. What a confusingly modern place you had....

Popular posts from this blog

A view from your shut down

The Daily Dish has been posting reader emails reporting on their " view from the shutdown ." If you think this doesn't affect you, or if you know all too well how bad this is, take a look at the growing collection of poignant stories. No one is in this alone except for the nutjobs in the House. I decided to email Andrew with my own view. I plan to send a similar letter to my congressperson. Dear Andrew, I am a professor of astronomy at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA houses one of the largest, if not the largest collection of PhD astronomers in the United States, with over 300 professional astronomers and roughly 100 doctoral and predoctoral students on a small campus a few blocks west of Harvard Yard. Under the umbrella of the CfA are about 20 Harvard astronomy professors, and 50 tenure-track Smithsonian researchers. A large fraction of the latter are civil servants currently on furlough and unable to come to work. In total, 147 FTEs

The Long Con

Hiding in Plain Sight ESPN has a series of sports documentaries called 30 For 30. One of my favorites is called Broke  which is about how professional athletes often make tens of millions of dollars in their careers yet retire with nothing. One of the major "leaks" turns out to be con artists, who lure athletes into elaborate real estate schemes or business ventures. This naturally raises the question: In a tightly-knit social structure that is a sports team, how can con artists operate so effectively and extensively? The answer is quite simple: very few people taken in by con artists ever tell anyone what happened. Thus, con artists can operate out in the open with little fear of consequences because they are shielded by the collective silence of their victims. I can empathize with this. I've lost money in two different con schemes. One was when I was in college, and I received a phone call that I had won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. All I needed to d

back-talk begins

me: "owen, come here. it's time to get a new diaper" him, sprinting down the hall with no pants on: "forget about it!" he's quoting benny the rabbit, a short-lived sesame street character who happens to be in his favorite "count with me" video. i'm turning my head, trying not to let him see me laugh, because his use and tone with the phrase are so spot-on.