Chicken Coup

I just had a conversation with my friend M about parenting in the absence of your own parents. As a geographically relocated family, Mémé and Pépé are far away…. a 15 hour drive to be more precise. For M, its a bit closer… maybe 6 hours or so. But still far.

It’s so cliché, but man I miss my mom sometimes (and my sisters too). We have friends and such in the area, but its never really the same. With your parents, you can drop your kid off, no matter what their state – cranky, tired, sick, teething, hungry, dirty – it doesn’t matter. Even better, you can call your folks to come over, so that you don’t have to move your child. With friends, you go out of your way to not inconvenience them. With your parents, you go out of your way not to inconvenience the child. Beautiful.

Now, I don’t have the opportunity to have my in-laws in town either… although some of my friends have confirmed this to be a mixed blessing(now, I love my in-laws and would give my left arm to have them close by… my right one reserved for my mom of course!) I wonder if you can ever feel as comfortable speaking your mind about your child with your in-laws.

I have been known to have local parent envy…. and to be very, very vocal about it! Be forewarned! If your parents live in the area and I hear you complain about them, I  might attempt a coup and force a geographical adoption!