In-laws

My husband's parents are arriving tonight for the week-end. I am not sure whether to warn his father in advance not to make mention of Annabel's weight or comment on what she is eating. I hope he will figure it out for himself.

The older generation can be a bit odd. Yesterday at lunch (Waif ate the starter sized risotto; her big sister the rib-eye steak and chips; neither touched the bread or pudding), there was an older, very well spoken couple behind us in the restaurant celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. They were lamenting how little time Richard (presumably their son) got to spend with his children (presumably he is divorced, although he might possibly have been on overseas postings in the army) and in such short chunks of time. "How lovely" I thought. "They have good solid family values and realise how important it is for children to spend time with their fathers as well as their mothers."

Then the man said "yes, Richard doesn't even have time to teach them proper table manners. They are appalling."

Out of all the life skills, anecdotes and wisdom that Richard doesn't have time to pass on to his children, I personally would have ranked table manners quite low down.