Car buried by the blizzard

Manhattan almost came to a standstill after yesterday’s blizzard. That only happens in the worst storms. Many shops were dark, every Chase bank branch was closed, city buses were stopped in their tracks, subways weren’t running, the airports were paralyzed, cars were buried under mountains of snow, side steets were impassable by cars, calls to 911 for ambulances went through the roof. Even David didn’t go to work.

Deserted Park Avenue

Snow dresses up NYC garbarge

David, Rigby and a stranded bus

The forced lazy day gave me a chance to pay bills, send delinquent emails, organize the papers on my desk and buy two frames to replace ones that fell apart ages ago. They both held photos of my dad, so I’m glad they now look great in their new “homes.”

I’m also glad my daughter and her boyfriend were able to fly out of the city yesterday, before the storm hit. They’re on a much-needed vacation.

I hope all my FOF friends made their way through the storm without too much trouble. Mother Nature is the most omnipotent FOF of all.

Will I get a raise? Are they giving me the promotion? Is he going to ask me to marry him during the holiday? How long will it take me to get pregnant? Will I get into college? It’s only 10 more days until he gets home. Only 3 more months till we’re in Paris. I can’t wait to see him again. I can’t wait until the new sofa arrives. I can’t wait until it stops raining.  Will this be the year my mammogram shows something?

Life is filled with anticipation. We’re waiting, hoping, counting the days, the hours, the minutes for news, a big event, an email, a phone call, a glance. We might be dreading our visit to the dentist, a plane ride, a rejection.

Sometimes we expect the worst and get the best; other times, it’s the other way around. Often, we waste unnecessary energy and time in a suspended state of anticipation. I’m learning to live more in the moment every single day. It seems to make more sense.

This is a momentous weekend for my FOF sister, Shelley. She and Russ celebrated their FORTIETH wedding anniversary, and their youngest son, Adam, became engaged to his girlfriend, Nicole.

FOF sister, Shelley, son Adam and Shelley's soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, Nicole

The 2005 movie, Monster-In-Law, was named after Shelley’s mother-in-law, as well as after countless mothers-in-law back in the day. But Shelley, like millions of FOFs, are giving new meaning to the words mother-in-law because she is going to treat Nicole like a daughter, rather than a son snatcher.

Shelley is thrilled that Adam met a lovely woman who loves him, even his numerous quirks. She thinks Nicole is warm, beautiful, hard working and smart. She’s thrilled Nicole is not afraid to stand up to Adam but knows just when to go along with him.

Shelley doesn’t think she’s competing with Nicole for Adam’s attentions. Adam and Nicole only spent a couple of hours with our family on Thanksgiving because they were going to be with Nicole’s family in Boston. If Adam thinks it’s more important to be with Nicole’s relatives for a specific holiday, Shelley doesn’t fret about it. She knows she and Russ will have plenty of opportunity to spend time with them throughout the year.

Shelley gave Rusty an oil-painted version of their wedding portrait. Artist is Linda McCoy. You can see her work at shop.faboverfifty.com

I don’t believe mothers-in-law in days gone by were as personally fulfilled as they are today.  They put too much emotional investment in their adult offspring, hence they criticized daughters-in-law who didn’t toe the line. Shelley has a wonderful marriage, two wonderful sons and two fab sisters. She had a great career as a school nutrionist and now loves working with us on fab over fifty.

Shelley is lucky to be getting Nicole as a daughter in law. Nicole knows she’s lucky, too.

Artist: Simone Brin