Ah Ha!

During the Thanksgiving trip one of the great mysteries was solved.

For the entire time I've known my In-Laws I've wondered how it is that they managed to raise and educate 5 children on the government salary my Father-in-law earned. Mom was a stay at home, plus she always had a maid. The kids always went to Catholic school too. It just baffled me how they could have managed that.

So the answer is they didn't really. DH's grandparents bought his parents their first and second houses. Which means they A) Never had a house payment until DH was in High School and B) They got to keep the sale price of the first house when they moved into the second. Not a bad deal at all.

Then MIL mentions that DH's grandparents paid for all the kids college educations too. My husband was astonished - he never knew (but then again he is pretty clueless).

So there it is a mystery solved. Too bad that cash won't be trickling down. When grandmother died, DH's parents used their inheritance to create a scholarship fund for kids at the New Jersey High School that is named after DH's grandfather.

So many interesting things to learn.

TTFN.