I was thinking about all the agitating, hurtful, and sexist things I’ve been taught by my parents, and I told Chris that maybe one day, I should write a book with all these sayings as a guide on what not to say to children as they are growing up.

The most recent annoying thing was told to me today. After I left work and called my mom on my way to Gramercy Tavern to meet Chris and his parents for their arrival dinner (and his dad’s belated birthday dinner, as his birthday was last week), my mom said to me, “Remember what I told you. Don’t pay for them.” I told her how ridiculous she was being, and she yelled at me and told me to stop talking back. “We always pay for Chris when he is with us, so his parents should always pay for you when you are with them. And you aren’t engaged or married yet, so you shouldn’t be spending your money on people who don’t really care about you.”

Thanks, Mom. It’s always nice to be reminded that no one in the world genuinely cares about me other than you and Dad. And then it’s even nicer to be reminded that even after getting married, I still can’t fully trust my husband because as she likes to remind me at least a few times a year, “Do you remember what Scott Peterson did to his pregnant wife?”