DENVER, CO—With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, many Americans plan to celebrate with family dinners and activities over a long weekend. For some, these visits are joyful reunions: for others, they are painful reminders of differences with those they love.
To help facilitate the latter during your visit, mom reports that she is already carefully composing little comments to toss around over your 3-day stay to indirectly communicate to you that she is disappointed you have not provided her with grandchildren as of yet. She announced plans to pepper conversations with these passive comments so as to not directly state what she feels, but to nevertheless plant the notion in your mind that she is unsatisfied with your lack of procreation.
Practicing in front of a mirror to witness the full effect, mom rehearsed, "I'm always surprised by how quiet things are when you visit." After an exaggerated sigh, she then probed, "Oh, I don't know how much longer I'll be around."
Although mom is aware of your claims of wanting children eventually, she has lost patience over the last 6 years since you moved out, and has been especially concerned since you started graduate school that she may never have a grandchild upon whom to dote, slip candy, and allow to get away with murder while in her care.
"I sure do miss those days when you were little enough to carry in my arms," she said three times in a row, with subtly different emphases each time. "Now that you're all grown, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I guess I didn't plan on getting old and having no one to take care of."
Mom is also preparing for counterpoints, such as your suggestion from two Christmases ago that she get a dog. "Oh, dogs are cute, for sure, but they never quite give you the same sense of fulfillment as, say, motherhood does."
As of press time, mom decided to work on that one a little more to try and be less direct.
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