A Lesson

For years I got to hear every single Christmas about how to correctly stuff a stocking. My mother-in-law swears up, down, and sideways there is only one right way to pack a stocking and I do NOT adhere to her standard. According to her, a stocking should be filled with socks, underwear, school supplies and toiletries. Each individual item, even a single pencil, should be wrapped before being stuffed (I am thinking she oughta be wrapped and stuffed, but I digress).



I, on the other hand, put an orange in the toe, an apple in the heel, then nuts on top, then candy, then whatever room is left gets fun little toys, or puzzles, or gadgets. Every year I hear about the inherent wrongness of my method and the superiority of hers. Sorry, I gotta do the fruit, nuts and candy thing. But over the years I have packed hers with toiletries, office supplies, etc, in an attempt to shut her u....um...keep her happy. But every year I hear about my great moral failing as a stuffer of stockings.



Finally a few years ago, I decided to skip the fruit and nuts and candy for her stocking. I got her a nice little 'Burt's Bees' toiletry pack, a set of pens and the mechanical pencils she likes for her crossword puzzles, and a pair of thick slipper socks. Each item was individually wrapped. This left underwear as the sole item she required for a perfectly stuffed stocking. After retreiving all the other items, she reached way into the toe of the stocking and pulled out a final tiny wrapped gift. Her face beamed in anticipation as she seemed hopeful that through years of incessant nagging I had finally been converted. Her fingers trembled as she ripped the paper away to reveal ...........



























a gigantic fruit printed thong!