The Grandparents Were Here, Now Get Me a Drink!

My parents were up for a visit this weekend. There were great moments, and lousy ones. Many more good than bad, but some of the bad were doosies.

First, the good:

• Watching my Dad grinning from ear to ear while swinging on a park swing with Mikro in his lap.



• Dad sending Mikro down the slide.



• Realizing the amazingly goofy faces my Dad makes to amuse his grandson.



• Mom with the boy, who she calls an angel. She is just crazy in love with him.



• Dad and I discussing financial matters like a couple of adults... like intellectual equals, even.



• Dad being cool with public breastfeeding!

Now, the bad:

No matter HOW much I love them, I could NEVER EVER EVER live in the same house as my parents for more than a day and a half! And that is mostly my mom's doing. She drove me insane. And I mean run away from home and sit on a tropical beach drinking frozen margaritas to block out the pain freaking insane.

If Mikro cries for thirty seconds, she starts with the Oh my God , what's wrong with the baby freakout. And it doesn't matter if I tell her, I just took the TV remote away from him and he's mad. She is convinced that he is dying of a rare tropical disease, or has a hidden skull fracture, or something equally dire.

God forbid he actually stumbles, because then she thinks a trip to the emergency room is in order, even if he gets up, dusts himself off, and is happily playing.

It makes me nuts!

The anxiety level gets ratchetted up to the point where it seems like my head will explode, and then I will snap at her, and she will get truly pissy with me. And then she will say, in what is supposed to be a kidding around way, oh, you're being a bad mommy. And that is just the red matador's cape being twirled in front of the bull. It is hurtful, and it makes me so angry I grind my teeth. Or yell.

So, that put a rather large damper on what was otherwise a very nice weekend.

It's funny, my dad and I used to really drive each other nuts, but now we get along fine. My mom has always been one of my very best friends, but being a grandma has made her difficult...