Sheila Charles THE THINGS CHILDREN SAY
I am always wondering about something
And this is what I wondered today,
How many folk get on with their in-laws?
I suppose some people may!
Every friend I rang and asked
All said the same.
THEY didn’t get on with their in-laws.
Oh, dear. What a shame.
I know this happened years now,
But I will never forget –
My Lancashire dad and my mother-in-law
Then, my dad came over from England
And so the scene was set!
They were both on a park bench
Sitting side by side,
When my young daughter said in a very clear voice,
Her little eyes open wide,
“Why doesn’t granddad marry grandma?”
Grandma took it in her stride
But my dad rolled his eyes heavenwards.
And to add insult to injury, he sighed!
And grandma saw him do it!
As for me, I could happily have died!
Then I happened to remember,
When I was my granddaughter’s age,
My two grandmas didn’t get on
And it wasn’t just a passing stage.
Because every year at Christmas,
Grandma A came to tea,
Then on New years day, a week laterw
It was the turn of Grandma B
So they never came together.
Not a good look, you’d have to agree!
And there are a lot of jokes
About mothers-in-law aren’t there? Yes.
About it’s obviously a common occurrence.
At least that would be MY guess!
illustration by ume-nori
