Yesterday was a wonderful day. We took my mother in law out for lunch and treats and shopping. (Okay, it wasn't wonderful for our waistlines but it's pretty much the one day a year we both see her so I'm cutting us a break. We walked, we did strength, I'm good with that.)
Anyhoo...
Whilst I do love my mother in law, there's one thing that the Mr and I just can't help but shake our heads at especially after watching this clip recently. She is definitely kind of a Debbie Downer. The following are actual quotes from yesterday.
"Brenda is going on the cruise with us and I haven't seen her in years. (Yay!) She has a brain tumor but it's benign (YAY!)...but it'll keep growing and she'll eventually go blind and die from it."
"He bred his Bull Mastiff...but it bit someone and they had to put it down."
"There was a guy I was kind of interested in at some point...I didn't hear from him for a while and his daughter went over and found him dead."
You get the idea. We love her but dang man, it's like there's not a positive without a quick following kick in the teeth. This is why we won't really tell her about anything we're going through because we don't want to be an anecdote to others.
When she was in the bathroom, I started laughing and told him it was just like the Debbie Downer skit and he agreed and then she came back with the bull mastiff one and neither of us could look at each other or we would've lost it laughing/crying. I think we both heard the trombone on that one.
Do you know any Debbie Downers? What are some of their zingers?
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It was a great day overall but it is disappointing that she tends to point out so many negatives all the time. If I had looked at you when she said that about the dog then I would have lost it laughing and just might have had to explain to her that she sounded like an SNL skit.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wish she wouldn't be so quick to always have negative things to say. I know it affects her happiness and I wish she'd just let the small stuff go so she could focus on the positive. Despite that, we had a great day and I'm glad we didn't lose it laughing and waited until we got home!
DeleteI can't hold a candle to those - but there are a few people at work that are just determined to find the downside to everything. Yesterday I was one of those people unfortunately, but that's not my norm.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard when people sound like a skit. It's like you want to take them seriously, but you just can't.
Oh I know those employees as well. While I do miss having co-workers, I don't miss THOSE particular co-workers. We're all entitled to our Debbie Downer days but when it's the norm, you've gotta ask yourself how much of your own happiness are you sacrificing with repeating others tales of woe. (90% of these people we don't even know) Yeah it was pretty hard not to completely lose it laughing especially since we'd just watched the skit within a day or two of seeing it "live." ;-)
DeleteROFL!!! that is funnt..atleast MR. agrees with u..my husband wud never laugh at her or find anything bad abt her...arghhh
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, he agrees. Don't get me wrong, he loves his mama (me too) but it's almost like a game we play now. Too funny!
DeleteAbsolutely hilarious. You need to write comedy, I actually laughed out loud. I have read about people taking the "no complaining" pledge, but I know I couldn't do that. My life is built on complaining, I don't know any other way. I have tried to be more upbeat lately, because it seems to upset Du if I am any way other than happy. It's a challenge. And I really think most people would describe me as "mostly happy," even though I'm a bit like your mother-in-law in real life!
ReplyDeleteGlad I could give you a laugh. It can be exhausting to listen to someone be constantly negative. I certainly have a healthy mix of snark and cynicism which I would love to reduce but I am trying to live more like this sign I saw once..."don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." It can be hard for a complainer to step back and I'm certainly guilty but sometimes I feel like it does nothing more than hurt my spirit.
DeleteMy #3 son is a "downer" ... I have to challenge him to rephrase things in a positive tone (you can do that almost always!) It is a challenge to be around someone like that.
ReplyDeleteThat's not a bad thing to teach. It's definitely a challenge. I had a co-worker that would suck the air out of the room with her negativity then wonder why people scattered when she would butt into a conversation! LOL
DeleteMy friend's sister is a TOTAL Debbie Downer! Actual conversation from this past Saturday.
ReplyDeleteMe: Getting a new tree this year? Cool! Real or fake?
Her: FAKE! We'd never get a real tree. There might be a snake it!
Me: A SNAKE?? In a Christmas tree?? This is an ACTUAL fear of yours?
Her: Yes! If you consider the fact that they come from the woods, chances are pretty good that there might be a snake in them.
Me: You know what? If you consider EVERY.single.THING then you can come up with odds for just about ANYTHING happening! You over think things!
Don't even get me started on the horror story she had in her pocket about the dangers of using METH that she was just ITCHING to break out on us.
METH. METH! Now, not trying to get into a whole discussion about drug abuse affecting all types of people across varying social/economical/lifestyle demographics but she was addressing a car full of college educated, gainfully employed suburban females with NO HISTORY of drug abuse. LOL! she just wanted to share an awful story about a college educated, gainfully employed, drug free, suburban couple who died horrifically after a meth freak out! LOL!
ROFL!!! That takes the cake! I think I'd be more scared that bugs, spiders or something would be in the tree, not a snake! I'm sure that you'll now steer clear of that meth you were looking to try because of her cautionary tale. *rolling eyes*
DeleteTHANK YOU! That's exactly what I said! hahaha
DeleteIs the snake a meth addict? That's the only way a snake would be in a tree or active in December.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!
DeleteHow funny! I would have made a little game out of it, asking her things to see if she could say anything that *wasn't* negative.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I don't know if I could've held back from laughing on that one. I was doing good enough not to lose it after we realized every sentence was a roller coaster of highs and lows. :-)
DeleteOh yes, my mother is all about DD. She rarely can find anything good, always expects the worst outcomes, and almost seems disappointed when things do go well. She got mad at me the other day when I was talking about living one day at a time and just focusing on today. She argued that you have to take your bp medication "today" so you'll still be alive "tomorrow". Wow....
ReplyDeleteMy Mimi (who I loved to pieces) told me one time, "That skirt looks nice on you. Those jeans you always wear make you look fat." What the heck?
ReplyDelete