rr22, if any of this sounded familiar to you (U-Haul, bourbon, and an Easter basket), then it is VERY likely that we're close geographically. They don't get much more southern than my father. Perhaps I should also mention that my father has a penchant for Goo-Goo Clusters, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (on the hottest of summer days, of course), and Durango boots. It's also very typical of my father to dig up part of his back yard this time of year to plant some tomato plants and a few rows of green beans, squash, and potatoes.
I probably don't even have to include that later in the summer I get this phone call: "You'd better get over here! It's time to pick beans. Hurry up! How long before you get here? These beans ain't gonna pick themselves! You coming? Come on!" And then there's this phone call immediately after I return home from the back yard harvest: "Have you broken those beans yet? You'd better hurry and get them blanched and frozen. You gonna can any of them? Why not? Can't find your pressure cooker? You can? If you know where it is, then get it out and get to work! Do you need any jars? What do you mean 'You don't know'? You'll need to come back in a couple days and get some more of these beans. Oh, yes, you will!" How was it that I only recently got an ulcer? Maybe I have just been desensitized over the years to the stress my father puts on me with his constant yammering.
It's funny that my father thinks my H should do these things because these are also things that my father would NEVER DO!! I wish that he would stop putting these ideas in my head. I'm going to do like you--after time, start agreeing with your mom and my father!!
Truth be told, my H is extremely lucky to get out of this one. These family things are always funny afterward, but I'm rarely amused when I'm in the thick of it.
