The Plate Snatcher

Since my mother-in-law has been staying with us, I’ve noticed that she has an annoying habit of immediately starting to clear the table as soon as she’s done eating. Not just her own plate, but everyone’s! There’s been some nights, like last night, when I’m not even done with my food, but you look away for a few seconds, and it’s gone. She had already grabbed my plate and was in the process of scrubbing it in the sink before I noticed. I had to get another plate to finish eating.

So, I decided to ask her about it this morning, and she told me that her mother used to do the same thing. Apparently, she would hover behind people and grab their cups and spoons the moment she set them down, because she was so afraid of having dirty dishes in the house. I guess that trait got passed on to her daughter!

I further found out that I’m not the only one to point it out. Apparently, there’s a running joke in the family about this. My brother-in-law has complained when my mother-in-law grabs his coffee cup while he’s still drinking his coffee! “Why did you take it?” “I thought you were done.” “There’s still coffee in it!”

I told my mother-in-law that that explains why her children eat so quickly. They know she’s coming for their plates, and they’re afraid they won’t get any food!