tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post4903948776971965280..comments2023-11-10T02:18:23.772-08:00Comments on Minnesota Matron: Guess Who's Side of the Family Does Not Know About the BlogMinnesota Matronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565431067927240183noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-12724575319414283162008-03-29T11:25:00.000-07:002008-03-29T11:25:00.000-07:00I think I did one better than get 'merricked' this...I think I did one better than get 'merricked' this past Christmas.<BR/>I had just come home after a rather tough operation and hospital stay, so my SO and I were looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas with only his Grandmother. That's when his least favorite aunt and uncle decided they would also like to spend Christmas with Grandma. Not only that, their idiot for a son would also be in attendance... There went my Holiday Cheer and any hopes for a nice celebration. To console myself and my SO I said 'Well, we can always say that I'm not feeling well, and go home just as soon as we've eaten' I also mentioned this to my sister...<BR/>So what happens? <BR/><BR/>On the 23rd I began having chills and ran a temperature - on the 24th I was rushed to the hospital with a post-operative infection. <BR/>My sister isn't totally convinced that I didn't somehow induce the infection myself...Allmyckehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03618880904953965190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-64743232703245730012008-03-25T12:59:00.000-07:002008-03-25T12:59:00.000-07:00I look forward to reading your blog (ALMOST) as mu...I look forward to reading your blog (ALMOST) as much as I look forward to my morning coffee. <BR/><BR/>I love the "Where's Merrick" game. I want to be Merrick at all of my family gatherings. I love my in laws, they are all good people. My family... spare me PLEASE! I'd rather have a root canal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-85674932494158146062008-03-25T12:43:00.000-07:002008-03-25T12:43:00.000-07:00what a hilarious post. hiding merrick. i love it."...what a hilarious post. hiding merrick. i love it.<BR/><BR/>"i have no problem with that war."<BR/><BR/>i love it.<BR/><BR/>the matron may have been the only person at the dinner to have watched last night's "frontline," too, i'll wager.lauriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18055442432266567561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-10897096215102696852008-03-25T11:54:00.000-07:002008-03-25T11:54:00.000-07:00I need to learn your family's art of "Hide the Mer...I need to learn your family's art of "Hide the Merrick" game! I wonder if it would work to hide me at the in-law family functions!<BR/><BR/>Becky ~ Your comment made perfect sense to me. I was raised in Fort Bragg,NC. I am very anti war & still pro-military. I grew up with friends who's fathers were gone in the first Iraq war, I watched several friends loose family members and one who lost her father. I will never denegrate the work and their value to our country ~ but I cannot agree with sending our troops to fight an ill conceived war. I'm generally a pacifist though, I would much rather see the troops at home helping our citizens than anyone else. ;) Praying your people make it home safe & soon.Brianne Hudgins Photographyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03177822409968152703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-32055772888304813842008-03-25T09:26:00.000-07:002008-03-25T09:26:00.000-07:00Okay, Matron, your in-laws possibly trump mine. Y...Okay, Matron, your in-laws possibly trump mine. Your family's deviousness & skillful plotting and execution to protect Merrick is amazing and worthy of deep respect. I bow to you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-44724815135021548962008-03-25T08:21:00.000-07:002008-03-25T08:21:00.000-07:00I feel like I've just finished a good workout. Ti...I feel like I've just finished a good workout. Tired but satisfied. I think this has been interesting and healthy. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-52895942350184177402008-03-25T08:06:00.000-07:002008-03-25T08:06:00.000-07:00Becky -- Yes, I totally understand your clarificat...Becky -- Yes, I totally understand your clarifications. Communicating through blog posts is tricky but I think I've been interpreting your posts the way you mean them. <BR/><BR/>It's funny . . I do a lesson with my writing students in which they are to imagine -- picture -- a coat. Then we go around the room and report what we saw.<BR/><BR/>Everyone's 'coat' is different, from a coat of paint to biker jacket to a rain coat.<BR/><BR/>The letters C O A T are the signifier. But the signified, the meaning or image, comes in our head.<BR/><BR/>How we communicate at all with all those signifieds bounding about and not quite matching -- even though we know we're really talking about the same thing, is fascinating.Minnesota Matronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565431067927240183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-83275913339484480122008-03-25T08:02:00.000-07:002008-03-25T08:02:00.000-07:00"How do you do that without crushing people servin..."How do you do that without crushing people serving and the families they leave behind?"<BR/><BR/>VERY good question!<BR/><BR/>Maybe we need to ask them? "How best can I support you and yet be frustrated with the mess in Iraq at the same time?"<BR/><BR/>Even Aunt B would agree that those around her are not required to say nothing ... but when at Christmas dinner, with brimming eyes and quivering lip, she says "I miss C and the kids" equating C and the kids to Nazi's is not a good choice. :)<BR/><BR/>Ya'll get that my comment was not at all political to start with right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-31253840062617328662008-03-25T07:18:00.001-07:002008-03-25T07:18:00.001-07:00Whoopsie! Yikes, I just reread that comment and I...Whoopsie! Yikes, I just reread that comment and I want to clarify - in NO WAY did I mean to insinuate that being born, raised and college educated in small town Iowa was a bad thing - Uncle A, who now lives in Boston, makes many MANY disparaging remarks about "those moronic Midwesterners". I only meant to point out his hypocrisy.<BR/>'kay? Phew!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-72890675614901626192008-03-25T07:18:00.000-07:002008-03-25T07:18:00.000-07:00I'm glad everyone's okay :-). And Sh8un -- don't ...I'm glad everyone's okay :-). And Sh8un -- don't get me wrong. I think about that war every day and about all those absolutely innocent people who are suffering and dying, murdered. Then, after writing my comment yesterday I heard something dramatic on NPR about a father who said his son's life was just wasted, thrown away (he was killed in Iraq) and his whole life is now about ending that war and saving all lives. Which made me doubt myself and think about our moral obligation to always oppose war. <BR/><BR/>How do you do that without crushing people serving and the families they leave behind?<BR/><BR/>My nephew is in Iraq, so now when I'm around that part of the family, I say: nothing. <BR/><BR/>And that doesn't feel right.Minnesota Matronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565431067927240183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-76709887359878674382008-03-25T05:04:00.000-07:002008-03-25T05:04:00.000-07:00Just wanted to check in here this morning and say ...Just wanted to check in here this morning and say Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to the Matron. You did capture the heart of my comments and I appreciate that more than you can know. <BR/><BR/>And to put sh8un's mind at ease - the kind of rhetoric I was speaking of had escalated to the point of Uncle "A", under the influence of his favorite Johnny Walker Blue Label, calling Aunt "B's" husband "C", and children "D", "E", and "F" and I quote "idiotic, unthinking automatons, only capable of following orders - no better than Nazi's". Very, VERY, mean. Aunt B was terribly hurt, Grandma was in tears and we all felt heartsick. Dinner was ruined - and so I think that there ARE times when it's best just to be polite for a couple hours. Make sense now?<BR/><BR/>BTW - and this is funny - the Minnesota crowd has bragging rights to more advanced degrees than the Boston crowd - and snotty Uncle A was born, raised, and college educated in small town Iowa! Where does he get off being so condescending - it's laughable really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-21494063280925742752008-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:002008-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:00I'm quite jealous that you get to blog this. Man ...I'm quite jealous that you get to blog this. Man do I have some stories.Tootsie Farklepantshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18336671002327112885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-57898356358375507252008-03-24T21:21:00.000-07:002008-03-24T21:21:00.000-07:00This did read like a movie script to me, MM! Perha...This did read like a movie script to me, MM! Perhaps you have a calling as yet untried. :) And yes, tone is everything. Exaggeration makes a more fun twist. Loved this story. Especially the "Where's Merrick" game.<BR/><BR/>I've got a small meme for you over at my blog. Please don't cry.JCKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04582581376724478366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-85240202084666304582008-03-24T19:26:00.000-07:002008-03-24T19:26:00.000-07:00Oh goodness, that sounds very much like my ex fami...Oh goodness, that sounds very much like my ex family in law and I am very happy to say that they are ex, because I found them unbearable to be around with and could not abide with the amount of ignorance. <BR/><BR/>It would have been better had my ex husband been completely the opposite, but he did not fall too far away from the tree, as it turned out. A died hard republican with very conservative points of view. <BR/><BR/>A lot of that got lost in the translation when we first met, I being Dutch and he being an American. I found out too late about complete incompatibility and socially accepted ignorant points of view that remained largely unchallenged.<BR/><BR/>Thank goodness I managed to escape!Irenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05043376053971475659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-33524497213826305512008-03-24T18:45:00.000-07:002008-03-24T18:45:00.000-07:00Have you, as a family, considered starring in your...Have you, as a family, considered starring in your own sitcom?<BR/><BR/>On second thought, have you tried your hand at screenwriting? The real estate market is tanking, but I hear the writers are back in bidness.Rimahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15883046753707687727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-20897585586008077812008-03-24T18:28:00.000-07:002008-03-24T18:28:00.000-07:00My in-laws often drive me crazy and I write about ...My in-laws often drive me crazy and I write about it on my blog. Doesn't make me love them any less. Just venting it so my head doesn't explode.<BR/><BR/>Love the Merrick game. Too funny.Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01979925607834752536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-25929377780144379222008-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:002008-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:00I loved the post--I think you captured what many o...I loved the post--I think you captured what many of us feel about our extended families. <BR/><BR/>As for the tone, it's what I always tell my kids--"entirely true but exxagerated for comic effect!"Jenn @ Juggling Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14455967210924573398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-60289258518775226742008-03-24T17:26:00.000-07:002008-03-24T17:26:00.000-07:00I am thinking I would like to play the where's Mer...I am thinking I would like to play the where's Merrick game at all my family's future gatherings-since I rarely get to express a thought or opinion (my family is fond of monologues), I don't think I would be missed.<BR/><BR/>Great post. Family is family is family.Mrs. G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01171997573144385692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-32185667157983092802008-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:002008-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:00Becky: This discussion actually reflects the larg...Becky: This discussion actually reflects the larger point you're trying to make. And you're right--it's incredibly demeaning to dismiss someone as ignorant and their opinions as invaluable (probably because they diverge). And, I totally understand what you mean by being on the other end. I have family members whose wealth and sophistication would crush me, should they choose to behave as the Boston relatives you describe do. Thankfully, they don't. <BR/><BR/>And I'll admit that your comments made me think hard about that haughty edge and tone of faint superiority to the post. Part of it is dramatic effect. Not everything plays in reality exactly as it's presented on the blog. But the other piece is that I really do love many of those people, even if I thoroughly disagree with (even feel righteous in that disagreement at times) the bulk of their opinions.<BR/><BR/>Not to par the Matron with the famous, but my feelings toward them might mirror those of Barack Obama to his relatives/minister who have made comments he considers inflammatory. He still loves them. they're part of him. I'm not sure if that came across sufficiently in the post.<BR/><BR/>While I see Sh8un's point, I think Becky's supersedes. For example, we had a sign that said "Stop the War In Iraq" in our yard. When Scarlett's 14 year old friend came up from Northfield to spend a week, we took that sign down. And hid it. Why? Her father was currently in Iraq, life on the line every day. I couldn't bear the thought of that child seeing that sign for one split second or hearing anything at all negative about the war in our home. And she didn't. She was loved and supported.<BR/><BR/>I'm all about starting the hard work toward peace by my personal interactions, first. I love you Sh8un and you go ahead and rabble rouse, but I think it's okay to see outside of the little circle of our lives and sometimes choose to set certain aspects of that aside, out of consideration precisely for that circle.Minnesota Matronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565431067927240183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-29303989385062895022008-03-24T16:55:00.000-07:002008-03-24T16:55:00.000-07:00In the spirit of adding to the controversy:I don't...In the spirit of adding to the controversy:<BR/>I don't know which definition of the word rhetoric becky meant when she said "spouting antiwar rhetoric" around a mother of 4 serving in the war is thoughtless and mean, but I bet she didn't mean it as a compliment. There is nothing thoughtless or mean to be antiwar or to voice your opinion. People try to equate being antiwar to things that are completely unrelated. You can support the soldiers and not the war. You can be patriotic and not support the war. You can be antiwar (the war in Iraq) and non-pacifist. You can feel empathy for the mother of 4 serving in Iraq and be antiwar. You can be thoughtful and kind, and still voice your opinion about the war. And you can be a human caring that countless (estimated between 85000 and 600000, we don't even keep count)Iraquies have died and be against the war. That doesn't make you thoughtless and mean. That just means you can see beyond your little circle in the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-14970179751660917812008-03-24T16:43:00.000-07:002008-03-24T16:43:00.000-07:00Families can be challenging. But seriously, Matro...Families can be challenging. But seriously, Matron, not once have you been visited by a stripper? I'm guessin' you don't know what you're missing.Karen Jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02540617923517042598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-56652498846498495102008-03-24T15:35:00.000-07:002008-03-24T15:35:00.000-07:00I think you must have hit a nerve with me - I have...I think you must have hit a nerve with me - I have relatives living in Boston who treat those of us living here in Minnesota as lowly country bumpkins. With up to 45 people in attendance at holiday gatherings their disdain and superior attitude has unnecessarily turned many a family dinner into an exercise in crowd management. A little tolerance would go along way. Yes, on both sides. The Boston crowd behave as if their opinions are the only valuable and carefully considered options. Anyone who disagrees with them is stupid and ill informed. What they fail to consider is that it is plain and simply bad form to spout antiwar rhetoric around the wife and mother of 4 loved ones currently serving. Thoughtless and mean. And while demanding that we attempt to understand and accept their religious choices - ours are deemed ridiculous and outdated. Unfair, wouldn’t you say? It hurts so badly to be devalued in such a way. Thank you for your kind response, I hope my comment did not seem unkind. I do enjoy your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-54089209569512686062008-03-24T15:24:00.000-07:002008-03-24T15:24:00.000-07:00And with this, you officially become my hero.And with this, you officially become my hero.K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04650831310658205416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-91424558474306811192008-03-24T15:16:00.000-07:002008-03-24T15:16:00.000-07:00Oh the subterfuge! I love it. That is hands down t...Oh the subterfuge! I love it. That is hands down the funniest in-law story ever.<BR/><BR/>Next family get-together I want my family to love me enough that i get to be Merricked. ;)Julie Pipperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169574697104642479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7381811875173852585.post-30332020481221174522008-03-24T15:08:00.000-07:002008-03-24T15:08:00.000-07:00Oh - and yes, only in these big Catholic families....Oh - and yes, only in these big Catholic families. Friends (sit down) my husband has approximately 75 first cousins. I am not making that up. I have a lowly 27. <BR/><BR/>My kids? 14 on John's side, 2 on mine. We're off pace.<BR/><BR/>And G. Sophie would love to meet your, Mom, Amy.Minnesota Matronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565431067927240183noreply@blogger.com