Amazing Awkward Family Dinners
We have an Uncle visiting us, he is not really OUR uncle in the blood family sense of the word, but still an Uncle in the round about, convoluted way we all have as part of our lives. The joy of this person is that he is a real as it gets. And sometimes he is TOO REAL. Last night would be one of those times.
He is the sibling of MY sibling's Mother-in-law. See, told ya, convoluted. In all fairness, when we were still living in the North East quadrant of the ol' US of A, we spent a lot of time with him and became good enough friends that we have no discomfort inviting him to come stay with us.
Let us just say he is a wee eccentric. That is probably a mild understatement, but he has a heart of gold and is usually funny to be around.
The usually part comes in last night. I don't know how the conversation got started, but somehow the words, "I LIKE TITTIES!" get hurtled into the listening atmosphere of our living room. (He is 70 by the way and as far as I can tell, no dementia has set in). I am guessing that because we reacted with shall I say Mild Horror. the word TITTIES! was repeated over and over. I thought my sister was going to have a stroke.
She and I went to check out the storm action we had going on, and came back 5 minutes later, walking back into the room to hear, you guessed it, "TITTIES!". I must say, it is just a word, and I don't really care, but when someone is uncomfortable and I am trying to be a good host, it creates very butt clenching emotions in me.
So I walk into the room and go, "Alrighty then, I thought the titty talk was over, MOVING ALONG." and somehow it got dropped.
It makes me wonder if anyone else, that has no OBVIOUS mental deterioration within their family, deals with this type of insanity? It was funny but awkward to put it mildly.
He is the sibling of MY sibling's Mother-in-law. See, told ya, convoluted. In all fairness, when we were still living in the North East quadrant of the ol' US of A, we spent a lot of time with him and became good enough friends that we have no discomfort inviting him to come stay with us.
Let us just say he is a wee eccentric. That is probably a mild understatement, but he has a heart of gold and is usually funny to be around.
The usually part comes in last night. I don't know how the conversation got started, but somehow the words, "I LIKE TITTIES!" get hurtled into the listening atmosphere of our living room. (He is 70 by the way and as far as I can tell, no dementia has set in). I am guessing that because we reacted with shall I say Mild Horror. the word TITTIES! was repeated over and over. I thought my sister was going to have a stroke.
She and I went to check out the storm action we had going on, and came back 5 minutes later, walking back into the room to hear, you guessed it, "TITTIES!". I must say, it is just a word, and I don't really care, but when someone is uncomfortable and I am trying to be a good host, it creates very butt clenching emotions in me.
So I walk into the room and go, "Alrighty then, I thought the titty talk was over, MOVING ALONG." and somehow it got dropped.
It makes me wonder if anyone else, that has no OBVIOUS mental deterioration within their family, deals with this type of insanity? It was funny but awkward to put it mildly.
You did the only thing a good host could do, and that was to direct the conversation topic to something else.
ReplyDeleteI'd gladly accept "titties!" over say "Pull my finger!" (with a fart accompanying it, of course), or my mother blurting out at Thanksgiving, "Hey, remember the first time I used a tampon, I left the cardboard applicator inside me?" (To which, I deadpanned to all, "Yes mom... I plan on eulogizing you with that anecdote." (She, no doubt, had crickets chirping in her head on that one.)