Watching: The 25th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live. Though the clips from the show's glory years were fun to watch, the sketches between the clips were pallid and went on too long...much like the sketches on SNL itself these days.

Link of the Day: If you're a fan of courtroom dramas, check out The Silken Tent for Margaret's multi-part series on her recent experiences as a juror. Incisive and thoughtful, Margaret observes the judicial system from the point of view of an ordinary citizen called upon to do an extraordinary thing: determine another person's guilt or innocence.

A Wasted Afternoon

So much for good intentions.

Tab's recently widowed uncle has been in the hospital for the past few days with heart failure. We hardly know Uncle Walt. For that matter, his own sister, Tab's mother, was not particularly close to him, either. Now that Uncle Walt may be close to shrugging off this mortal coil, however, Stephanie has been visiting him every day. She is having trouble dealing with the fact that soon she and her sister will be be the only remaining siblings out of six.

On Friday, Stephanie announced that she wanted to have a small party in Uncle Walt's hospital room this Sunday to celebrate his birthday. She asked if we would come and bring the kids. Tab declined, citing all the work he wanted to get done and his limited time. Feeling sorry for both Stephanie and Uncle Walt, I agreed, however. "So we'll see you here on Sunday at 2," I said to her as she left on Friday. She nodded.

The kids and I were ready at two o'clock today, though I hardly expected her to be on time. My mother-in-law is chronically late, which has long been a sore point with Tab and me. If we want her to be on time for an event, we have to tell her to arrive a half hour before we really need her. Still, at 3 o'clock, I realized Stephanie was excessively late, even by her lax standards.

The boys kept asking, "When's Babci getting here? When are we going to the hospital?"

"Babci is late, guys."

"Late again," Matthew commented. They know her well.

The three of them were becoming too rambunctious, so I took them for a long walk around the neighborhood, fully expecting to see her car when we arrived home. No such luck.

By 4 o'clock, I realized she wasn't going to show, though I still didn't know why. I told the boys we wouldn't be going to the hospital today, after all. Meanwhile, I was seething. I was incensed that we'd wasted the entire afternoon of a beautiful fall day waiting for my mother-in-law so that we could go visit someone I barely know. Someone who isn't even my relative, for heaven's sake!

Finally, at close to 6 o'clock, she arrived. It turns out she thought we were going to meet her at the hospital.

"But I said we'd see you here, remember?" I told her.

"No, I don't remember that," she answered.

"Look, I would never agree to meet you at the hospital. For one thing, I don't even know which pavilion Uncle Walt is in, nor his room number. Besides, you are always late, and I certainly wouldn't want to wait for you at the hospital with the three boys. That's why I said we'd see you here. I assumed we'd be going together."

Once I'd spoken my mind, I let the issue drop. I didn't see any point in belaboring it since it was obviously a misunderstanding. It is a little troubling that Stephanie is becoming so forgetful lately. I hope this isn't a trend that will continue.

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