Friday The 13th
Friday
The 13th
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Some people get very superstitious and spend the whole day worrying
when it is Friday The 13th. My old friend, partner and mentor Maurie
Webster always said that when it was Friday the 13th it was
his lucky day. So today I recall Maurie, remember how very lucky
I was to know him, and forego superstition.
Perhaps Maurie was right -- since December 31 I've been dealing with
The Cold That Won't Go Away, and its attendant cough, stuffed nose,
etc. Today is the first day this year that I haven't felt
overwhelmed by the various manifestations of this malady. It
seems to have broken. Must be my lucky day!
Someone else not worrying about superstition is flying to New York
today, probably in the air as I type this. I would describe this person, but that poses a semantic brainteaser.
I have a dilemma in finding the right word or words to characterize this person. If one is in a Long Term Relationship,
but not married, how does one describe one's partner's family
members? Many years ago I would refer to an old girlfriend's mother as my
"would-be Mother In Law." But that sounded weird, seemed not quite an apt description.
A buddy in a similar situation, Long Term Relationship, not married,
been involved for years with his partner, refers to his spouse's (how
else to refer to one's Significant Other?) family as his ersatz
in-laws. That sounded right, seemed good. Maybe I'd use
that turn of the phrase, I thought. Just to be certain I looked
up ersatz at Dictionary.com.
Hmm, imitation, inferior, substitute, artificial? Not
right. Frankly, I once had some real in-laws I could describe
that way.
Makes "would-be" (as in, would be if we were married) in-laws sound better. But would-be somehow seems to infer something other than simply would if it were. Just what the inference is, I don't know. But it nags at me.
There are numerous people out there in Long Term Relationships, some of
them living together, some of them just in a relationship forever
regardless of their living situations. This is not a new thing;
people have been in these sorts of relationships for ages. So why
is there not a reliable term or phrase in the vernacular that describes
the equivalent of in-laws?
So my "would-be" sister-in-law (she who would be such were I in the
lawful state of marriage with her sister, with whom I am in the LTR) is
in the air, defying all phobia with regard to Friday The 13th.
The skies are clear, the day looks good.
Now if I could just get a term, words to substitute for "in-law." Any ideas?
