At a Sunday barbecue in Brisbane, Margaret watched her daughter-in-law, Kate, hand the barbecue tongs to her husband.
“In my day,” Margaret announced, “a wife looked after her man. I cooked Bruce’s meals, ironed his shirts, and brought him a cold beer every evening.”
Kate smiled. “And how did you keep the romance alive?”
“I wore something special when he came home.”
“So do I,” Kate replied. “Noise-cancelling headphones.”
Her husband, Ben, nearly dropped the sausages.
Margaret folded her arms. “Well, my son never complained about my cooking.”
“He also ate a crayon when he was six,” Kate said. “I wouldn’t build a reputation around his judgment.”
“Ladies, please,” Ben interrupted. “Can we have one lunch without this? Mum, tell Kate something you appreciate about her. Kate, then you do the same.”
Margaret took a breath.
“I appreciate that you’ve given my son a lovely home.”
Kate nodded. “And I appreciate that you’ve given him somewhere to go whenever he says your way is better.”
Ben set down the tongs. “Right. I’m staying out of this.”
From his chair, Bruce raised his beer.
“Good choice, son. I tried getting between your mother and mine in 1987.”
“What happened?”
“They made up. I’m still apologising.”😂🤣
