Faceoff #2
October 1st, 2009
Susan would have had no idea there was any tension if it wasn’t for the burning sensation on either side of her head.
(submitted by Susan)
Tags: hair, matchy-matchy, mom
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This could be a picture from my family album, my mother and grandmother were always like this.
The woman on the right looks like she is about ready to B slap grandma if it weren’t for the little girl in the way. Who says you gotta respect your elders, even if they do have glasses-I wonder what started it all anyway……..”damn it Marg, I’ve told you a thousand times, the wine glasses go on the right!”
The battle for the posession of the red orbs had begun.
hahahahahahahaha boom boom! Well done… tee hee
Are they red tennis balls?
Satin Christmas balls decoratively set in a white bowl.
No, they are christmas ornaments. The light reflecting off of them makes them look like tennis balls.
They look fuzzy to me.
I reckon the woman on the left is the mother-in-law of the woman on the right and didn’t like the comments she made about her masterful centerpiece.
I thought they were red tennis balls too!
I think grandma wins possession. After all, she wore the earrings to match . . .
Hahahaha. For some reason I thought they were apples or tomatoes in a bowl reflecting light.
Photographic evidence of Marney! The young woman HAS to be *the* Lisa Chesterford! I mean she WAS told to bring vegies and dip… NOT OLIVES! And that illegitimate baby was a TOTAL suprise.
http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/07/01/awkward-family-story-the-thanksgiving-letter/
I was thinking the same thing! The lady in the classes has to be Marney!
She had just said, “I TOLD you no one would eat so much turnips!”
Well spotted!
rofl You win.
This made me laugh right out loud. Marney lives!
Perfect. LOL!
YES….my thoughts exactly.
Anyone else notice that the martini glass is empty? Somebody’s been in the sauce, and probably just commenced with the ceremonial airing of grievances! Festivus!
“Yes, Virginia, there REALLY is a Marney!”
I thought they were making the little girl eat a bowl of rocks but I think they are olives.
Marny is upset because someone didn’t bring a regulation size cassarole dish.
I thought that too
Button up, it’s chilly in here.
Oh my god, that is such a remarquable family picture. It tells so much about the mother/daughter relationship in one look, mostly thanks to the one little girl in the middle.
We’ve been there
I’m assuming it’s a mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship…but you could be right.
Sweet denim jumper on MeeMaw Marney as well. I think the other lady was JEAL-OUS!
Why are tennis balls the center piece? WT*?! AT least grandma’s earrings match!
Uh oh – someone dared to defy Marnie and brought the wrong spoon!
I’m guessing mother-in-law who resents daughter-in-law for taking her little boy from her and now he HAS to stay because they’ve created this little THING sitting between them. You know a mother is a boy’s best friend, and Norman won’t be able to take over the family hotel business.
FTW!
I predict years of therapy for the young girl (although, I think the adults could benefit from some as well!)
G’ma didn’t approve of the tennis ball/holly center piece………..
Who uses a bowl full of red tennis balls as a centerpiece?
“Mommy? Grandma? What word rhymes with ‘Witch’?”
This looks and feels like every family event I ever attended. Hence, I don’t do family events anymore! For those of you have don’t have totally dysfunctional families, enjoy the ambiance …
Did anybody else spend a few minutes trying to figure out why centerpiece was a bowl full of red tennis balls and holly?
That is actually 1970’s decor…. those are styrofoam balls that had fabric pressed into them to make decorative holiday patterns. Apparently Marny did not LEAD the class and they ended up looking like tennis balls. (I have a whole cookie container of those things!)
This is why the world needs Martha Stewart.
That was the last time mother and grandmother secretly shared mutual disdain for the other with little Susan “Tattle Tale” Johnson.
That totally is Marney…
I’m the submitter (really!) Mom had gotten her hair done and Grandma didn’t like how it looked. I think it’s gorgeous.
“If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything” obviously wasn’t Grandma’s forte.
I think the haircut is hot.
God, I miss the seventies!
I think this is my aunt and cousin!
This picture gave me chills, because the little girl (who I’m assuming is you?) looks EXACTLY like my twin sister did at that age…only she was born in 1991. I’d kind of be interested to see a current pic so I can show her what she has to look forward to.
The piercing gazes from Aunt Marcy and Mama Lisa were too much.
Right after this picture was taken….Susan’s head exploded.
I hear that stretch denim is coming back. I think that is a Mother in-law / Daughter in-law relationship. I have seen it. I have felt it. I have known it. I think the daughter in-law is upset because Mother in-law took two of the red tennis balls out of the centerpiece for her ears.
was are those red balls on the table?? I guess it’s supposed to be some sort of christmas decor
what*
I think they’re annoyed with one another because they didn’t call the night before to discuss what they were going to wear. Why is everyone wearing the same color dress?
I was just thinking how nicely coordinated they looked. And really, isn’t that all that matters?
Clearly disproving the old “Whoever smelt it, dealt it” adage.
Days of Future Past
That little kid reminds me of me sometimes, totally oblivious.
Mom is really annoyed that Gramma is rocking the denim zip up shirt. And the little girl from Poltergeist hovers in the middle. “They’re he-e-e-re!”
Gramma:”Glenda, why don’t you get into the seventies, and get rid of the spit curl?”
Glenda: “Oh, ma, you have no room to talk. Cat eye glasses and denim polyester do NOT go together.”
Little girl: “Cheese?”
Is there a white bowl filled with red tennis balls on the table?
lm*o! I was wondering that those were myself
I think it’s red satin thread Christmas tree ornaments being used as a centerpiece. And mistletoe, too. Everyone lean in for a kiss! Then again, maybe not.
It is! It’s those horrible thread ornaments that frizz and unravel over time, leaving bare, separated spots, like someone sliced away a neat segment of the ornament rind to reveal the ornament fruit. But one shouldn’t let one’s seething ornament rage cast a dark cloud over the rest of the holiday. “Next year, I’LL bring the centerpiece.”
Win.
Festivus for the rest of us.
This must have been taken during the Airing of Grievances.
Mere seconds after this photo was taken, the poor little girl burst into flames for being too close to the heat. …and all because Mom refused to finish her potatoes.
Is that Marney?
They must be arguing over whether or not the hacky-sack centerpiece works well in the room.
I bet the mother would be appalled to realize that she looks exactly like the grandmother here.
You all have it wrong. Respectfully, the little girl is ACTUALLY MARNIE at age 7. The picture was taken in 1972. That makes her now a VERY neurotic age 44. She got that way after witnessing decades of angst between her Mom and Grandma. Notice the neutral, far-away look on her face? “Years from now I’ll make them all pay. The entire family. I’ve got time on my side! MUUUUH HA HA HA!”
A slice of Americana, circa 1972. Beulah, born in 1910, is 62 years old now and is very much “old school conservative” in her thinking and lifestyle. She doesn’t understand the new liberal ideas and still hasn’t gotten over what she likes to call “the insanity of the 1960’s.”
Beulah’s daughter, Barbara, is 32 years old and is sick and tired of her mother’s judgmental attitude and guilt trips. Unlike her mother, Barbara doesn’t use the Great Depression as a frame of reference for every aspect of life. She longs for the 1960’s, when she and Doug still lived on their mushroom farm in Southern Utah. In response to her mother’s constant criticism of “the manner in which she’s raising Susan,” Barbara let’s her daughter do whatever she wants when Beulah is around.
Susan was born in 1964 and loves it when grandma Beulah visits. She does miss her daddy though. He has to work late every night when grandma is in town.
No, see, it’s Village of the Damned, and the little girl is killing anyone who dares to annoy her.
Granny: Evelyn, I really think she should be spanked. I mean it’s just wrong to go around killing people. You just don’t discipline her enough! I spanked Johnny when he was naughty and just look at him today! Assistant Manager at the feed store! Spare the rod and spoil the child!
Daughter-in-law, Evelyn: Well, Dr. Spock says that spanking is violent and that non-physical means of discipline are more effective and don’t hurt the child’s psyche.
Granny: Oh, pooh! She’s killing people for Pete’s sake! That’s not violent??!!
Guess which one is next…???
Who won the duel? Did they use swords or pistols? Was the little girl the “second” for the mom or the grandmom?
Is there any wonder why the mom’s martini glass is sucked dry. You would be upset too if you were accused of bringing a non-regulation caserole dish when you knew darn good and well it IS regulation size!
Not only sucked dry, but she picks the olives out and I count six in the dish already. The glaring looks are only Round One. Round Two involves hurling ornaments and torn denim.
Those aren’t tennis balls. They’re those old shiny satin thread ornaments, but the light is reflecting off them so they look like they have white stripes.
That said, it looks like mom is strongly considering mixing herself another martini.
This is priceless! I love it! My mother and grandmother often sent dirty looks over me when they were angry, while I tried to appear oblivious. That little girl knows what’s going on and is not letting it bother her!
Grandma looks like she’s going to choke from having her zipper up so high around her neck.
This reminds me of the Christmas my sister’s mother in law showed up with a very ornate molded jello she spent hours making. My sister was attempting to get it out of the mold so she let it sit in some warm water first. When she turned it over onto the plate the whole thing fell out into the sink and went right down the drain. We have a picture somewhere of the two of them sitting next to eachother at dinner. It looks just like this! Their relationship never recovered from that jello incident. I think it’s what led to my sister finally getting a divorce! LOL
that’s hysterical!
That’s classic! I love to hear stories like yours. I can picture that jello getting sucked down the drain. lol
Susan was confused. Words like “pessimist’ and “optimist” were being thrown back and forth between Mommy and Grandma as they debated the glass of water on the table. What did she care? It was clear, until this was resolved, no one was going to pass her the olives.
Look again–she knows.
Heaven forbid anyone shows a little cleavage in this family!
I think Grandma is the model for Maxine – the greeting card lady who always loves to greet Christmas carolers…..”with a bucket of water”
Let this serve as a reminder that the holidays are coming upon us faster than we expect, and Marney is getting to write her annual letter.
Honestly…did that style of glasses frames ever make ANYONE look happy?
Yes, “cat eye” glasses were the height of fashion in the 50s and 60s. What’s sad is all the women who continued to wear them long after fashion and styles changed. It really made them look out of touch. Lisa Loeb wears similar glasses as part of her retro look …and she definitely looks happy …and sexy!
Please note, the first rule of keeping mommy happy when Nana comes to visit: As long as there are olives, the martini glass should be full. I see plenty of olives and no martini in the glass.
Holidays, Extended Family and Liquor….the stuff dreams are made of.
This reminds me of a parent-teacher conference I had a few years ago. Very pompous and pretentious parents came in to discuss their offsprings progress, which, of course, had to be far above average.
I pulled out the child’s latest writing sample. There was in little first grade handwriting the words: “At Thanksgiving, Mom, Dad and Grandma had a big fight.” The cherry on top was the illustration that had a red-faced dad with a speech bubble that said, “Shut up you old bat!” and mom was crying over the turkey. If if was possible to sink any lower in those kiddie size seats, they would have. Classic win or Epic Fail. Just depends which side of the table you are on.
Awesome. SIMPLY AWESOME!! Makes me think of that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. Remember that one?
I think you mean, “Very pompous and pretentious parents came in to discuss their prodigies’ projected progress…”