With Little Miss Field Day due to graduate from High School this May, amongst many other things, we are in the midst of planning her Graduation Party.

Simplest thing would be to hold it at our place, but due to multiple considerations (small yard, no parking, doggy doughnuts), we decided to rent a pavilion at a local park. First choice was one of our borough's parks, but the only one available on the day selected was $150, plus deposit and a copy of our homeowners insurance policy. (It did include access to the baseball diamond and football/soccer field)

So we went with one of the county parks. South Park (no relation) is only a couple of miles from us, and they have a lot of places. We found that one we were familiar with was available, cost was only $30 for the permit, and we have it for the day. Yea.

That was all settled last week.

So yesterday, the Boss gets a phone call from her mother. Good news!, she says. My father-in-law, who is on the borough council in their community, and is responsible for their parks and athletic fields, checked and found out that the pavilion that THEY like (used for many annual family reunions over the years) was available. And only $50! He decided to reserve it for us, and they'll even pick up the tab! How wonderful!

(In case you're wondering, there's no refund on our reservation. We can change the date or the pavilion -- twice -- at no cost, but no refunds. Not that $30 would kill us.)

And, she had all sorts of "suggestions" for what food we should provide, who we should get it from, what we should do...

The Boss tried to decline this wonderful invitation. My M-I-L wouldn't have it. So, the Boss finally said that she'd ask LMFD if she'd want to move the party. LMFD did not want to; she'd already started telling her friends where and when. And the simple reality is that Harbor Grove in South Park is easy to find with plenty of parking, and a real bathroom nearby. The other park is a pain in the anatomy to find, if you're not familiar with the area, and only has a single port-a-potty.

So the Boss declined again.

Now my mother-in-law is upset with me. Somehow, this is all my doing.

*sigh*