After 21+ hours of travel, we finally arrived in Melbourne this morning. Chris’s parents picked us up from the airport, and when we arrived home, Chris’s mom wasted no time in showing us the new window blinds she recently had installed on all second floor windows. Chris’s parents live in this beautiful two-story home with what Chris and his brother like to call “suicide windows.” What they are referring to are their massive floor-to-ceiling windows in each second-floor room that open out like doors, so if some unknowing child decided to open the window, he could easily step out and fall to his little death. Chris always gets apprehensive during the Christmas season if his parents are hosting Christmas or Boxing Day celebrations for the family because that means that in the past, they’ve needed to child-proof the house as much as possible. That mainly entails covering all the windows with drapes and making sure Chris’s cousin’s young children stay as far away from them as possible.

I originally thought Chris’s mom just wanted a change of décor for the house, so I complimented the new window blinds and noted how much larger and more spacious the bedrooms looked with blinds instead of the window drapes. I also noted that with blinds, the windows are now fully child-proof, which means that when the nephews come over, they no longer had to worry about the windows. She didn’t beat around the bush at all and said immediately, “Yes, that’s what I wanted them for – to child proof the house for my future grandchildren!”

Hmmm.

Chris’s mom was very transparent. She said that Tony thought she was being a little absurd, and to get another opinion, she consulted with her friend and told this friend of her plans. The conversation went a little something like this:

Susan: So, I’m having new blinds installed in the house on the second floor, and Tony doesn’t seem to approve.

Friend: Why not?

Susan: Well, I want to have them installed so that the house will be safe and child-proof for my future grandchildren, but Tony thinks it’s too premature to plan for that.

Friend: Oh, is your daughter-in-law pregnant?

Susan: No, not yet.

Friend: Have your son and daughter-in-law mentioned wanting to have children soon?

Susan: No, they haven’t mentioned anything.

Friend: Susan, don’t you think you are getting a little ahead of yourself?

My mother-in-law is an eager beaver. She simply cannot wait to be a grandmother.