parents' endearing habits and quirks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I am very fortunate to have wonderful parents and in-laws. DH and I have just visited with both sets of our parents and we have noticed some of the funny things they do...what funny/endearing things do your parents do?

my dad: wears hats of all sorts for every occasion and just around the house, wears black socks with white tennis shoes, puts on CSPAN and takes a nap every afternoon, claims he "doesn't know how to order" and "no one ever helps him order" when we go to any restaurant that has a type of cuisine he's not familiar with (which is basically any non-American cuisine), going to get the mail is an event to be looked forward to and talked about on a daily basis

my mom: very-and I mean this sincerely, not in a sarcastic way-skilled at hunt and peck typing, has been known to watch an entire movie and then at the end if you ask her how she liked it she'll say "I'm not sure; I couldn't really hear anything they were saying," has to read every word of every single plaque, historical marker and signage of any type that she has ever come across in her life, never knows how to spell anything, including people's names and comes up w/ some very interesting spellings of her own

my MIL: adds extra letters and syllables to a lot of words, almost always calls with her comments after she sees a picture/status that my husband or I or another family member/friend posted on facebook instead of just writing a comment on facebook, if any place we are going is within a 5 mile radius, she will ask sincerely if we are going to walk or drive there and, if left to her own devices, would almost always just set out walking, even if she doesn't know how far a place is

my FIL: writes his entire e-mail in the subject line and then leaves the 'body' of the e-mail blank or just signs his name, will often just get up and leave the room while everyone else is having a conversation because he gets bored/wants to be alone/can't hear that well, he calls in advance of every holiday and my MIL's birthday to remind us to call her

haha my dad does this! "don't forget, tomorrow's Easter/Christmas/Mother's Day, etc" he even calls before holidays like memorial day, the 4th of july, labor day because our neighborhood has big picnics on those days and they are family picnics so every year my mom gets sad on those holidays that we-her kids/grandkids-dont live in their neighborhood and go to the picnics with them

My parents have been divorced for 25 years, and they both still call me before the other parent's birthday or mothers/Father's Day to remind me. "Don't forget, it's your dad's birthday next week! Be sure to call him!" "Yes, mom, I've already mailed a card". Mom even called once to remind me to wish Dad and his new wife a happy anniversary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My dad: would pretend he was asleep after dinner, in front of the t.v., and surprise me with a headlock as I walked past.

So many "dadisms". Thanks for the post, OP.

My grandfather would do this! I'd think he was asleep watching the baseball game. And the TV reflected off his glasses, I would try to sneak past him and bam! It scared the hell out of me, but I laughed every time.

PP here. Weren't they the best?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MIL calls a handbag/purse of any shape and size 'a pocketbook'. Not sure where that comes from.

Must be a regional thing. I grew up calling it that. I'm from Philly; mom is from New York. She carried a "pocketbook" or a "purse" but never a "handbag."

I'm from NY and I say "pocketbook" most of the time. I'm in my mid-40s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MIL calls a handbag/purse of any shape and size 'a pocketbook'. Not sure where that comes from.

Must be a regional thing. I grew up calling it that. I'm from Philly; mom is from New York. She carried a "pocketbook" or a "purse" but never a "handbag."

I'm from NY and I say "pocketbook" most of the time. I'm in my mid-40s.

My folks are from northern PA - right at the NY border - and have a lot of -isms. For instance, I live in WARSH-ington DC. My mom also uses a "pocketbook."

My ILs are from a suburb of Pittsburgh, and the accent is very strong. The yinzer accent is spectacular, if you haven't heard it.

[Anonymous]

Still loving this thread, so I thought of more:

- my parents are the only people who use a nickname for me
- after my dad retired, he discovered the joys of cooking. He went from being very meat and potatoes to using all sorts of spices. Like cumin, which he pronounces like cue-mine
- my mom is 71, and still works 6 days a week because she loves what she does
- my dad was a mechanic. Every time I visit, he does a full work up of my car because he doesn't trust "those city mechanics"

[Anonymous]

My dad is almost 79 and he won't let me mow the lawn, because once, when I was 16, I didn't pick up the grass clippings...

[Anonymous]

I only knew my father-in-law for a couple of years (he died just after our wedding) but he used to rib my husband in the most hilarious ways. Whenever DH would start dispensing uninformed fitness or medical advice (because he's in good physical condition and thinks he has it all figured out), my FIL would say, "Oh - so which one of the Mayo brothers are you?" And he would tell me sometimes, "You know, Joe has a high opinion of a number of people - but none more so than himself!" I wish I could remember more of these... Shortly before he died he kissed me on my head and said, "You're not my daughter, but I love you like you were." He only had sons and was not close to his prickly other daughter-in-law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is hilarious.

My MIL is the most optimistic person on earth. If you say to her "Joe broke his leg, isn't that sad?" She will literally say "well now that crutch maker on Leland Avenue will have some work, finally!"

She also tells these long convoluted stories about people she thinks we should know, even after we tell her we don't know them. "[DH], remember Johnny from high school? He had that red hair?" DH: "nope" MIL: "well I ran into his mother at the store and she said he works at the bank now! Isn't that amazing?!"

She still sends DH a letter in the mail every week. She writes about FIL in it ("dad and I went to the mall...") then signs it "love, mom and dad." She's the best.

My mom does this too! She is forever running into people at the grocery store. And when she tells me these stories about people I don't know or remember, I just could not be less interested. Yet, she keeps telling me about the person's education and trip to Europe and...my brother and I are really tired of it though because she's always comparing our lives to those of our childhood classmates'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is hilarious.

My MIL is the most optimistic person on earth. If you say to her "Joe broke his leg, isn't that sad?" She will literally say "well now that crutch maker on Leland Avenue will have some work, finally!"

She also tells these long convoluted stories about people she thinks we should know, even after we tell her we don't know them. "[DH], remember Johnny from high school? He had that red hair?" DH: "nope" MIL: "well I ran into his mother at the store and she said he works at the bank now! Isn't that amazing?!"

She still sends DH a letter in the mail every week. She writes about FIL in it ("dad and I went to the mall...") then signs it "love, mom and dad." She's the best.

My mom does this too! She is forever running into people at the grocery store. And when she tells me these stories about people I don't know or remember, I just could not be less interested. Yet, she keeps telling me about the person's education and trip to Europe and...my brother and I are really tired of it though because she's always comparing our lives to those of our childhood classmates'.

yep this is my mom as well. Every time I go home she's always trying to 'set me up' to go see old classmates of mine who I am not (and in some cases was never) friends with) when I go home to visit. 'you know that Susan Smith, she's really something! she works down at the co-op now!' 'that John Jones, he's so amazing! he bikes 10 miles a day!' OMG

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIL: brings groceries with her every single time she visits (we live in DC, which does have grocery stores). She once brought us a giant ham that stayed in our fridge for ages until we realized we had no idea what to do with it. Only makes one cup of coffee at a time in our 12 pot coffee maker, drives my husband insane. Cleans our kitchen, but puts every item away someplace new. It's a little scavenger hunt after they leave.

FIL: Plays basketball in a Senior league, keeps trying to get the neighbor kids to play with him when he visits. Strictly a Coke drinker. Says to grandson, "Have I hugged you yet today? Give me a hug!" about a hundred times a day.

I adore them.

But a Senseco or one cup Keriug for her
I hate coffee that sits for even 10 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MIL: brings groceries with her every single time she visits (we live in DC, which does have grocery stores). She once brought us a giant ham that stayed in our fridge for ages until we realized we had no idea what to do with it. Only makes one cup of coffee at a time in our 12 pot coffee maker, drives my husband insane. Cleans our kitchen, but puts every item away someplace new. It's a little scavenger hunt after they leave.

FIL: Plays basketball in a Senior league, keeps trying to get the neighbor kids to play with him when he visits. Strictly a Coke drinker. Says to grandson, "Have I hugged you yet today? Give me a hug!" about a hundred times a day.

I adore them.

But a Senseco or one cup Keriug for her
I hate coffee that sits for even 10 minutes.

Keriugs are filthy machines. Do a little research about how they are impossible to clean and bacteria slime grows inside of them. Not to mention the cups are SO wasteful. It'd be better to just make a fresh pot of coffee every time you want a fresh cup...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MIL: brings groceries with her every single time she visits (we live in DC, which does have grocery stores). She once brought us a giant ham that stayed in our fridge for ages until we realized we had no idea what to do with it. Only makes one cup of coffee at a time in our 12 pot coffee maker, drives my husband insane. Cleans our kitchen, but puts every item away someplace new. It's a little scavenger hunt after they leave.

FIL: Plays basketball in a Senior league, keeps trying to get the neighbor kids to play with him when he visits. Strictly a Coke drinker. Says to grandson, "Have I hugged you yet today? Give me a hug!" about a hundred times a day.

I adore them.

But a Senseco or one cup Keriug for her
I hate coffee that sits for even 10 minutes.

Keriugs are filthy machines. Do a little research about how they are impossible to clean and bacteria slime grows inside of them. Not to mention the cups are SO wasteful. It'd be better to just make a fresh pot of coffee every time you want a fresh cup...

Yes I quit using the Keurig bc it seemed to never be clean despite my daily attempts! We use one of those cone shaped things where you stick a filter in, measure your coffee and pour boiling water over it so it brews into your cup. At Starbucks they call it pour over coffee.

My dad leaves silly messages on my voice mail every holiday. He sings very dramatic versions of the happy birthday song on my birthday, says "Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas! on Christmas, gobbles like a turkey on thanksgiving, and sings Peter cottontail on Easter. My favorite is his anniversary song though. He also votes in every election and has all of his "I voted" stickers lined up in his garage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is hilarious.

My MIL is the most optimistic person on earth. If you say to her "Joe broke his leg, isn't that sad?" She will literally say "well now that crutch maker on Leland Avenue will have some work, finally!"

She also tells these long convoluted stories about people she thinks we should know, even after we tell her we don't know them. "[DH], remember Johnny from high school? He had that red hair?" DH: "nope" MIL: "well I ran into his mother at the store and she said he works at the bank now! Isn't that amazing?!"

She still sends DH a letter in the mail every week. She writes about FIL in it ("dad and I went to the mall...") then signs it "love, mom and dad." She's the best.

My mom does this too! She is forever running into people at the grocery store. And when she tells me these stories about people I don't know or remember, I just could not be less interested. Yet, she keeps telling me about the person's education and trip to Europe and...my brother and I are really tired of it though because she's always comparing our lives to those of our childhood classmates'.

I will see you both and raise you one. My mother doesn't just tell us random shit about people we may not know. She will leave me this type of voicemail. "Hi Laura, it's Mommy. Do you remember that Jeff (brother) was friends with a boy named Matt Tamblin in 1st and 2nd grade? And his mom's name was Cara? Well, I ran into Cara's husband Steve at Publix - they moved to Florida two years ago - and he told me that Cara's father just died. If you want to send a sympathy card, it would go to Cara Tamblin and Family, 429 Southwest 27th Court, Davie, FL, 33324. I'm sure she'd be really touched. Okay, I love you, call me back, bye."

Meanwhile my brother will say he got the same voicemail and tell me "I hated that prick! We weren't friends at ALL!"

[Anonymous]

My FIL mispronounces things: Breakfast is brefast and things like that. It's a mix of Italian parents and Boston/Italian accents. He also mixes up letters in words sometimes. It cracks me up that DH's Boston accent comes out when he's talking to his dad

MIL: If she can make something by hand instead of paying for it, she will. Even if that means she spends hours doing something that would take someone else 30 min.

Mom: She sends cards for everything. New job? Card. Going through a tough time? Card. She has like 75 cards in a box at home categorized. When she gets coupons at CVS for like buy 2 get 1 free, she uses them and just adds to her stockpile. It's sweet

Dad: He's told a couple of the same jokes since I was a kid. Dad: What's new? Me: Nothing much Dad: I didn't ask you WHAT you KNEW, I asked WHAT'S new.
It's one of those things that makes me roll my eyes every time he does it, but it just wouldn't be my dad if he didn't do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My FIL mispronounces things: Breakfast is brefast and things like that. It's a mix of Italian parents and Boston/Italian accents. He also mixes up letters in words sometimes. It cracks me up that DH's Boston accent comes out when he's talking to his dad

MIL: If she can make something by hand instead of paying for it, she will. Even if that means she spends hours doing something that would take someone else 30 min.

Mom: She sends cards for everything. New job? Card. Going through a tough time? Card. She has like 75 cards in a box at home categorized. When she gets coupons at CVS for like buy 2 get 1 free, she uses them and just adds to her stockpile. It's sweet

Dad: He's told a couple of the same jokes since I was a kid. Dad: What's new? Me: Nothing much Dad: I didn't ask you WHAT you KNEW, I asked WHAT'S new.
It's one of those things that makes me roll my eyes every time he does it, but it just wouldn't be my dad if he didn't do it.

Loved this one.

She sounds really thoughtful.