The Rotating Mother-in-Law
A Funny Serial Story by 
How do
you share a parent who has adopted the rotating lifestyle — a parent
who, no longer able to maintain a home of her own, takes turns visiting
each of her children for part of the year? What do you do if you disagree
with your siblings as to whose turn it is to host Mom now?
Here's
a tip: Don't say 'yes' to such a stupid scheme in the first place! Especially
since you probably don't have a friend like Belle, who'll go to bat
for you!
AWARD WINNER!
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This
story was selected by Best Humor Sites Ever!
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Episode 1:
When, Oh When, Will She Leave?
"The
rotation is upon us again," Belle announced as she hurried to
her chair at the oak table in her mother's kitchen and reached for
a jelly-filled Viennese doughnut. "I would have been here earlier,
but..." She bit into her doughnut and moaned appreciatively. "My
friend Jane was very upset. I had to stay and console her."
Belle and her older sister, Chrissy, ate at their mother's home as
often as they could and never missed the five o'clock tea she
served for them on Wednesdays. Their mother, Catherine Valère
Ghent, known affectionately as Mrs. G to all who loved and
admired her, was a five-star Cordon Bleu cook of rare talent. Belle
pulled the napkin-lined pastry basket toward her and settled in.
Mrs. G was gazing intently out of the French doors at the banks of
azaleas and rhododendrons that encircled the slate patio and
decorated the hill that rose gently beyond. "Oh, I'm so worried,"
she said. "Everything seems to be blooming fast this year. What if
the azaleas are past their peak for my benefit next week?"
"I am sure everything will be perfect as usual." Belle examined
the basket and selected an almond-paste croissant. She sniffed it
and took a large bite. "Mmmm... This is heavenly... Anyway, I
wanted to talk to you two about the rotation. Jane's mother-in-law
was supposed to leave next Wednesday —"
"You girls promised to attend and circulate! If you don't
circulate, I shall consider your promises to be broken!"
Mrs. G shook her finger at them.
"Don't worry, Mom!" Chrissy interjected. She turned to Belle.
"This year we expanded and computerized our donor list. Those who
own a house assessed at over a million, presidents and owners of
all the major local companies —"
"All for a good cause, " Mrs. G said, getting up. "We provide a
lot of free care at Melton General."
"It's a pleasure watching you putting the arm on the rich and
famous of Melton," Belle said, guarding the pastry basket.
"And of towns beyond!" Mrs. G trilled, as she danced away with the
tray of tiny tea sandwiches to her SubZero refrigerator.
"Wait! I haven't had any yet." Belle jumped up after the tray and
snatched a handful. "And now, about this darn rotation..."
Mrs. G came back and sat down. "Yes dear, we're all ears."
"Well, Jane's going off the deep end. She was in a total tizzy
today. She thinks that, again this year, she won't get a decent
period of respite between when her mother-in-law leaves and her
own mother arrives."
"Poor Jane
and her husband Rupert have a difficult situation," Chrissy explained
to Mrs. G. "Rupert's mother stays with them in the winter, and
then she leaves and Jane's mother comes and stays with them in
the summer."
"While Rupert's mother stays with one of Rupert's sisters."
"Oh dear," Mrs. G said.
"See, Rupert and one of his sisters share their mother,"
Chrissy said, "since neither is able to take full-time responsibility
for her."
"Passing her back and forth is more like it," Belle observed.
"Like a bad penny!"
"Oh dear, dear!" Mrs. G said.
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If
you have personal experiences on the subject that you would like
to share or you would like to comment on this serial story, please send me a note.
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Note for
Dramatica aficionados: Check out The Rotating Mother-in-Law for any plot holes. Can
you spot the contagonist? Hint: Who is tempted, but then is forced
to re-evaluate? Follow the Dramatica Throughlines
and Signposts as you read the story.
Also
check out the Dramatica Matrix of
Appreciations by throughline and signpost to see if
the issues have been dealt with in a Grand Argument story. Like
the issue of Deception, for instance! (By the way, where
do you stand on the use of deception "in the service of a good
cause"? You can send me a note and
if it it's a zinger, I'll work it into the argument!)
And
here's the Template for the
Dramatica appreciations of this particular storyform (1 in 32,000 possible
Dramatica storyforms!). Enter your own encodings for these appreciations
and create a new story with the same storyform! (Note: Just open the
page in the EDIT mode in Netscape, change as you wish and save your own
copy.)
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