That is so interesting,
Harriet, what you said about the age differences in your parents and HRH's and the corresponding their affectionate ways. Or at least public displays of affection, I mean. My dmom said once that ddad thought SHE was not affectionate enough with dbro and me. I certainly never felt any lack of affection from her -- and ddad wasn't super-affectionate either, but he certainly became more so as he got older, and especially after he learned he had the blood disorder that eventually became leukemia -- but when I read your post, I thought, WOW.
Dmom's parents were older, born in 1911 & 1915, and were in their 30s when dmom, an only child, was born.
Ddad's parents were born in 1920 & 1921, and were 18 & 19 when he was born. He was the first of three, all born within approximately 4 years. By all indications, you'd think ddad's home life was much more tumultuous than dmom's -- my dgf was away in WWII, they were not financially secure until ddad's teen years, I'd guess, if then... but now that you mentioned it, my aunt and uncle almost ALWAYS say "I love you" when they say good-bye, on the phone or in person, and it is not unusual at all for my cousins to do so, also. When ddad & his siblings were growing up, their house was always full of cousins and friends and aunts and uncles... soooo different from my dmom's.
My maternal grandparents were very special to me, and I pretty much thought my dgdad walked on water, and I never had any doubt that they both felt the same about me -- but I have a feeling their parenting styles were very different from the two young, poor teenagers who were struggling to raise my ddad & his siblings. It's so interesting to think about how our circumstances shape the people we grow up to be, isn't it?
Philosophy aside... it HAS been a relatively simple Sunday, thank goodness.
Went to church, disagreed TOTALLY with the preacher's perspective in his sermon, left fussing about that (not arguing with dh, we were
both saying what we wish we could say to the preacher!)
Normal Sunday chores, nap, read the paper, talked with dmom briefly (awoke her from nap and she had undoubtedly been VERY sound asleep)
Cooked supper, cleaned up kitchen
Wmart, groceries, etc...
I've also done a couple loads of laundry, b/c I was very far behind on that task, and the week ahead doesn't look good either. Need to get a load out of the washer right now...
Kasalia, I'm glad you had at least part of your family to celebrate your birthday with! That has to be hard, having one daughter so far away. Our son lives about a mile from us, but he has been out of town since Wed. night, and we had not talked to him since he left. DH was getting very antsy to hear from him. (He just called a minute ago, thank goodness!)
My house certainly is clean with a dirty neck... and will likely stay that way for a while.
DH is waiting on the computer, so I'm going to sign off.