Pit Parties and Earl grey tea

I sure hate to see you being used as a workhorse or taken advantage of, Beth, and yet I know there aren't many alternatives or options within the situation. I wish I was with you to help you with your burden, or at least share the load.

Mother-in-laws are truly a mixed blessing. I have to be very careful what I say about Davids mother, especially around any one in the family. David knows about the difficulties I had, and I think his father had an idea too. But at the same time, I know how kind she was to you, Beth. I'll be interested to see how Darren's Mom fits into the current situation. She is quite willing to have the children in her home overnight--a one bedroom suite with a roommate--but the children love her. She was still married to Darren's Dad, after over thirty years separation, but Darren has been assured that this won't interfere with executing the will. We will be celebrating Christmas with her, at Ambers, and she is already talking about holobchi and pyrogies. I know she isnt too bright, but she managed to raise her child and care for her own mother while working three low-paying jobs. We have heard nothing more today. Although we had the children last night, while Amber and Darren spoke to the bank about him taking over as Executor. They had a full day today, and then are going out to her Christmas Party at work tonight. She is on the organizing committee and felt an obligation, but I think it might be good for both of them to spend some time socializing without the children. A friend, Sandra is baby sittting, which she does a lot. I just hope they both had enough sleep to enjoy it. So we take one day at a time.

I came back to edit this as I realized that I had missed the Earl Grey Tea. You may or may not know, that postage costs have gone up over the past year. It now costs more to mail a package of Earl Grey tea than it does to buy the stuff. We also decided that it isn't in our best interest to have big bags of salty nuts'n'bolts in the house. So if I make any, it won't be until just before Christmas, when I can take it to Amber's to share. I know how much of a tradition this sort of thing is, and I feel badly about letting it go, but there it is.