As I said before, there is no doubt. she is a wonderful lady and I have great respect for her. Since marriage i have been living with my in laws. When my hubby left for UAE, I continued to stay with them. Then I was abroad for a period of 4 years with my hubby. Again when we felt they needed us (they never asked), it was our joint decision (me  and hubby) for me to quit my job (at the Hyatt Regency Dubai) and return to India to take to care of them. I don't have to say anything else to prove my affection for her and that I am not making fun of her but just sharing a couple of funny incidents (among umpteen) with you all.

Her witty comments are spontaneous. She makes me split into giggles when  we talk alone - the topic being HER INLAWS AND HUBBY!!!!!!!!..

Once when she was sitting in the backyard and cleaning the rice. I was loitering near her. FIL dear was rearranging (yeah exasperating- but we give in to him and allow him to re arrange the way we keep the vessels  after the maid servant leaves and then re re arrange it after he retires to read the news paper LOL) the vessels in the kitchen as usual. He feels that is excercise for his hands.

He has always been proud of his chest expansion in 1943. As per him " every one who had come for the test showed 1 1/2 or 2inches of chest expansion; but I showed 4 inches. When every one finished they called me back. The inspector said he wanted to check my chest expansion once again. You know how much I showed this time? 4.5 inches" . That is his favorite lines.  He is so proud of it. As usual, the topic of small talk somehow came to children and their general health. He proudly announced, "you know, When I was a teenager I would kick a small boulder with my feet" and there goes my MIL in an aside only for my ears"aamaaam Kanjapisunaarikal; appa amma foot ball vangi kudithirukka maatta payyanukku" meaning- "MISERLY PARENTS WOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT THEIR SON A FOOT BALL ".Thank God he didn't hear it..

Once one of appa's niece and family had come South to go to temples. So the base was our place. Water was a little scarce and we wouldn't waste it at all. After washing the clothes, the water left behind after rinsing would be poured into the vessels kept for cleaning so that they don't go dry. This family had a small baby also with them and to take care of the baby, a maid was also with them. One day we were all in the kitchen yacking when suddenly, we heard the sound of running water outside. She mused who is outside and was given a reply by the niece it was Bharthi washing clothes. Amma excused herself saying "I will be back in a second. I will just instruct the lady not to waste the water after rinsing the clothes. She can pour it into the cooker". She is proud about the fact that she knows Hindi too. We trailed behind her and the next we saw her pointing to the cooker and telling the servant - "Bharthi, thum paani isse peeyo".You should have see poor Bharthi's stunned face and we all burst out laughing".  amma looked at us and asked why did I say something wrong??"

The best one I love:

My hubby's only condition to me at the time of our marriage was that his parents as well as his niece and nephew would be living with us. If it was ok by me, he had no problem in marrying me.  It was very much Okay by me. Years rolled on; the nephew and niece who were with us left home to pursue their college education and were replaced by another sister inlaw's two sons. One(Mania) was working in a company here and his brother (Mahesh) just joined the law college.

This incident happened more than twelve years back. It was the time when we had two or three cable operators trying to get clients. They had their own gimmicks to steal cutomers from the other company. Our operator  would organize a lucky draw during Diwali and winners were given attractive prizes. Only those who paid the monthly fee promptly were included in the list. So we were prompt payers. One day I was having my lunch (we don't eat breakfast, but prefer an early lnch at around 11 am) when the calling bell buzzed. MIL dear went to the door and looked. There is a driveway to the main gate and we used to keep this locked after everyone left for their  schools, college or place of work. She came in excited. She burst out - "wash your hands quickly. You can eat later. We have got the prize this year. there are two men at the gate with a big parcel. I am sure it is the Diwali bumper prize."

My FIL joined in "Go quickly and unlock the gate. don't keep them waiting." I jumped up, washed my hands quickly, didn't even wait to close my half eaten food. SO enthusiastic we were to have won the prize.  I grabbed the keys off the key holder and humming a tune rushed outside. As I sprinted towards the gate, my expression changed and I was shocked as well as ready to burst out laughing. There standing outside the gate was nephew who had left for the office a couple of hours back. His hand was in a Plaster of Paris cast and he was accompanied by a colleague. He had kept his hand close to the chest and the the white cast and the angled of hand had given the impression to my MIL it was a person carrying a parcel. I don't have to tell you about her eye sight now do I? Controlling my laughter, I brought him inside to a couple ready to receive the cable operator and his guest.
When she saw her grandson with his hand i a cast, she was shocked. But the next instant she herself burst out laughing who was joined in by me and FIL. An irritated nephew asked the reason and when we told him the reason, he and his friend also joined in. Later he explained how his scooter was hit by an auto and the fracture he ended up with.

Even now when the calling bell rings, sometimes we tease her, "amma, cable prize konduvandhirukkaalaa?" (Has the cable guy come with a prize???)