My new In-home Chef

Munchkin is very close to turning into Julia Child...without the espionage skills or French accent. She got home from the Red Sox game yesterday and texted me that she was making dinner. Obviously, her cooking is good news for me, since it means I don't have to:-). Her cooking skills are basically limited to pasta, so my expectations were for either that or maybe cheeseburgers or something of the like.

And what did she bust out? How about grilled chicken Caesar lettuce wraps. OK, so she didn't quite get them exactly as Rachel Rae had mapped out in said recipe...but that is more the fault of our cupboard than it is her cooking skills. She had to make due with what was in the house...basically she grilled the chicken and cut it up, and then we ate it with Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese and croutons. It was kinda awesome;-).

So, I called my aunt last night...the one from yesterday's post...and had a very civil, nice-enough discussion. She re-stated a lot of what was in her note, and I thanked her for reaching out and for her kind words, and apologized for whatever role I had in our tense relationship. I am not always the most understanding person when I am at odds with someone (especially family) and I can definitely exacerbate situations like this...so I felt like I should at least acknowledge that.

Anyway, not sure what the great takeaway is, but it was nice to have an adult conversation with her. I should recognize that a lot of the tension that I have with my Mom's family (and my step-family) comes from their genuine concern for Munchkin. I did, after all, pick her up and move her an awful long way away from her family at an impressionable time, and I suppose it is understandable that they would be concerned for her. It would make sense that, as things have settled down and Munchkin's overall awesomeness hasn't suffered;-), that they would view it differently.

I also, apparantly, have underestimated the effect that my relocating her had on the relationships within my Mom's family. They didn't all agree on what they felt was best for her, and I guess that there is still a lot of unresolved tension between all of them. I get the impression that I am not fully up to speed on all of it. I think, for now, I will just focus on them all loving her enough to care (and, obviously, keeping mental track of who was always on my side:-P).

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In other news...who has been following this story? Glad they seem to have caught him, but it is a really freaky story. That is not remotely the kind of seedy, scary hotel that you would identify with hooker-killers...in fact, I am in and out of that place kind of regularly (for non-prostitution purposes:-P). My guess is that many of you that have visited Boston have either stayed in that Marriott, or in the Westin or Sheraton that are basically all connected in the Prudential Center complex.