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Nebraska mother-in-law
by Karen Hayes

I never intended to live my life in Nebraska. I had plans, I had goals, I had an I.Q. Well, life works its own magic on your plans.

I met my hubby on summer vacations. We just kind of hung out together, with the same group of young people, comprised of local folks working in the area, college kids home for the summer, and the interesting drifters that stay for awhile and move on. I was a college kid. Tom was a local guy working for a farm/ranch operation. I can’t tell you exactly when Tom and I made a connection, it just kind of happened.

I do remember the first time I met his mother, though!

I stopped in for lunch at the local hamburger joint, sweaty and dirty from my job at the city. (Not a glamorous job for sure, but it paid pretty well for an 18-year old.)

The woman who waited on me took my order, then gave me a very definite, very derogatory glance up and down (did I mention that I was sweaty and dirty and had red paint streaks all over my tube top and little cut-off shorts?) Then, while I was waiting for my cheeseburger, she started grilling me about what I had done last weekend! Jeez, she knew details.

Hey, I grew up in small towns, so I knew the spiel. I was not rude, but I did leave very quickly as soon as my cheeseburger was up! Later, I told Tom about it. He got this weird look on his face, asked me what she looked like. I told him she was shorter than me (hard to beat, I’m pretty short), had dark hair, and a frown that was pretty scary. He kinda chuckled, and looked worried at the same time. Then he ‘fessed up.’

That’s how I met my mother-in-law.

From that rocky start, she and I forged an alliance. It took a few years of marriage to her son, and a grandkid or two to do it, but eventually, we laughed so hard about our first meeting. She thought I was a trashy blond, I thought she was a bitchy fast food worker.

Turns out we had the same values and traditions. And the same love of Nebraska. She was such a font of information, family history, wisdom and just plain common sense.

She taught me so much!

I miss her every day.

This one’s for you, Wanda!

Karen Hayes works for the Imperial Republican in Imperial, Nebraska

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