I don't have children, but everyone always tell me they are funny little creatures who can be unfailingly honest. My friends have told me stories where their children have shared too much information with guests and chuckle about their inability to utilize the filter that comes with age and experience.

I was on the end of such an encounter last Saturday. I had a gig and it was geared more for families, so I needed to tone down some of my stage banter for a younger audience. It was a pretty fun show and it had been a long time since I had been around that many children. Their enthusiasm was contagious!

After the show, many of them wanted autographs and wanted to know if I knew Hannah Montana or any movie stars who lived in New York. Then, one very shy little boy approached me. He mumbled that his name was Mitch. I shook his hand and asked him how old he was and replied that he was nine. Then, he said, "Your music made me feel really good right here" and he pointed at his heart.

I looked at this little boy and my eyes filled with tears and I thanked him for sharing that with me. I didn't want to fall apart in front of him and scare the poor kid half to death, but every time I think about him, I get pretty choked up. With everything going on right now, I think I needed to hear that.

This was said to me recently by my future mother-in-law, and I explained the context in a recent post. Not really the welcome one might expect, right?

What do you do when someone else's divorce starts affecting your life?

This is new territory for me. My ex-husband's parents were married. They didn't like each other all that much, but they were married. My parents have been married almost 40 years. My future husband's parents have been divorced 25 years. Now, to me, that seems like a long time and one would think that perhaps some of that anger would fade away. Not so!

So, I tried to put myself in her shoes. My ex and I did not have children, but I imagined if we had.

Would I like to be at the same parties as my ex?
Would I like to see him on a regular basis because my kids only have time to squeeze in dinner here and there?
Would I like to pretend that we can be friends for my children?
Would I like my new husband to have to also try and interact with my ex?

Well, the answer is a resounding, "NO!" Sometimes, it is hard to see another perspective, but hers is crystal clear now and I will be much more aware how we plan family gatherings considering the situation.

Our wedding day is a little more than 100 days away and the chances of me not going crazy before the big day have significantly decreased since last week.

In a previous post, I mentioned that my fiancé's family was very adamant about throwing a shower for me sometime this year, and my schedule is already filling up. Plus, I'm not really a huge fan of showers of any type even though I appreciate the sentiment behind it.

That being said, my fiancé's parents have been divorced for 25 years and still have a hard time being in the same room together. His father's family wanted to throw one big shower and invite his side, her side, and any of my friends and family who would like to come. I had not had a chance to run this idea past my future mother-in-law yet because of the holidays, but apparently, we had not moved fast enough for his father because he called my fiancé's mother and wanted to know what the plan was for the shower.

So, needless to say, she felt that she was out of the loop and did NOT want to be a part of anything her ex-husband was planning. She called us the other night and she wasn't mad at us directly, but she was definitely angry. One of the first things she said was, "You know, we are not one big happy family."

Yikes.

My fiancé's family is divorced and his parents both come from large families. So, Christmas is not what you would call relaxing. We went to five Christmas parties on Christmas Day. That's a lot of meatballs and deviled eggs, for those of you not from the Midwest. I was already missing my own family, and this didn't help.

His father has five sisters and as soon as I stepped into their party, they swarmed around me like a pack of wolves. They want to throw a bridal shower for me back in Minnesota. Because I perform publicly, my schedule is on the Internet for the whole world to see. The whole world includes my future in-laws so I can't get out of it by telling them I'm busy.

I realize they have good intentions, but I didn't really enjoy my first wedding's bridal shower and I would prefer to finish planning my second wedding and not worry about yet another party. As I left the party, they reminded me about 50 times to let them know what weekend would work and my future father-in-law has called me every day. I'm thrilled to be getting married again and I'm thrilled about my upcoming wedding. I'm just not so thrilled about all the other things that go along with it.

Help me please?

In an earlier posting, I explained that I would not be seeing my parents for Christmas. As much as I adore my fiancé's family and their Italian traditions, I had a hard time.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to his grandparent's house where 30 of his mother's side of the family were eating and drinking and being very merry. They are a great group of people — and even Santa Claus showed up — but I couldn't shake the holiday blues.

I kept thinking about my family's traditions on Christmas Eve. It was my mother, father, brother, and the family basset hound. We shared many wonderful moments around the tree on Christmas Eve, and even though this year I was surrounded by wonderful people by the tree, it just wasn't the same.

I excused myself from the party and called my mom and she started to cry on the phone, then I started to cry. I promised that we would be together next year and told her I would call her in the morning. I returned to the party after I collected myself and my fiancé could tell I was upset. I didn't want to ruin the evening so I told him we'd talk about it later. It was a tough evening, but it's over and now, I am going to focus on the future. Next year we'll be our own little family and starting our own traditions.

I grew up on a pig farm in rural Wisconsin. Now, I live in Manhattan. I have truly lived on both sides of the spectrum!

When I was child, we had a huge hill that we used for our sledding hill. The first few runs were a little tough, but as soon as the snow was smoothed down and perhaps a little ice on top, that sled would fly!

Usually, there was a pile of plowed snow near the bottom which would stop us from coasting out into the snow covered corn fields. However, one December morning, my brother and I had a little sledding accident.

The snow was sparkling and I had received a new sled Christmas morning. My brother and I raced out to try it out. It was my gift, so of course, I wanted to sit in front. My father hadn't plowed, so there was nothing to stop us from coasting to the other side of the field — nothing except for the silo.

We took off in the sled at record speeds and I hadn't quite expected the momentum we would have. I looked up to see us racing right towards the silo. I tried to turn, but couldn't! We hit that silo and since I was in the front, my nose took the silo head on. My little brother just fell off the back unhurt, but I was mess. My little brother had a speech problem and leaned over me and said, "Bicky, are you o-tay?"

Let's just say sledding is not my favorite activity anymore. Here's to a whole holiday season without incident or injury.

I mentioned in a previous post how I feel like a student of life again. The lessons I'm learning are more difficult than the ones I had to learn as a child. Say "please" and "thank you." Don't interrupt. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. I guess they are good lessons, but the ones I am learning now are a bit different and way more challenging.

This Christmas has taught me about letting go of the past. I won't see my parents or my brother this year for Christmas. It has bothered me immensely that this won't happen. It is the first time I won't see them for the holidays. Schedules and some health problems have made it impossible. Their absence has crossed my mind every day and it saddens me.

However, this is a situation I can't fix it and it's out of my control. I'm trying to let go and see the beauty in a Christmas with my fiancé's family, but my heart wants to experience the special traditions I've had all my life. I guess I can look to the future instead of the past, and hope the scenario will be different next year.

Accepting change has never been my strongest trait, and letting go is definitely something I do not excel at. Perhaps as I get older, I will become a better student.

After my divorce, Thanksgiving actually returned to how we celebrated growing up. I didn't have to run all over the Midwest visiting family and in-laws. It was simply the four of us at the house I grew up in. My brother wasn't dating anyone and I was newly divorced.

So, where the Thanksgiving table had been full just the previous year, it was down to the four of us again.

I have fond memories of those years because it was simple. We didn't have to worry about my crazy former in-laws and all their uber-religious tongue lashing. My ex-husband wasn't there to drink all the wine before everyone else had a glass. It was quiet and peaceful.

This year, I'm leaving for Florida to be the chef for Thanksgiving where we will be making more room at my parent's table for my fiancé and my brother's girlfriend. New people bring a new dynamic to the holidays. Adding another place setting means adding more room in your heart and life for the new additions to a family. I'm looking forward to seeing how the day will unfold and praying I don't screw up the turkey.

Whatever happens, it will feel good to fill a house with love and laughter again.

Two years ago, my fiancé was meeting my parents for the first time at Thanksgiving and we were making the bird — a first for both of us.

We bought the bird and found a recipe that seemed safe. I was working on preparing the stuffing and Joe said he would rinse the turkey and remove the neck. He was standing over the sink rinsing away trying to find the neck. I heard a few curse words and I went over to help him.

He was peering in a small hole in the bird and couldn't figure out how to remove the neck through the hole. We called his Grandma who said we had a disfigured bird. We called his mother and she said we needed to quit joking around. We called my mom (who doesn't like to cook) and she recommended we order a pizza and not worry about it.

After about a half hour of trying to find the neck, he turned over the turkey and the cavity fell open. Lo and behold, there was the neck and package of giblets. We both looked at each other and started laughing because my poor Joe had been poking this bird in, ahem — obviously the WRONG place.

I told everyone in the family this story and now the question every year is, "Will Joe fondle the turkey or not?" He doesn't find this quite as humorous, but Dad finds it hilarious!

I am in Chicago. Tonight, I'm on the radio and I have a couple gigs this weekend. I used to live here with my ex and I'm actually staying with his aunt and uncle. They are the only 2 people from his entire family that I keep in contact with. Why? They're nice people and treat me like family — they have very little interaction with my ex.

Last night, they made a beautiful dinner for me. We had a wonderful time catching up and telling stories. They are in the process of selling their home and mentioned their new home is a bit smaller than the one they currently have and that their grand piano won't be coming with them.

I was shocked! I asked what will they do with the beautiful instrument and they responded, "Well, we'd like to give it to you!" Can you hear my jaw hitting the table?

I couldn't believe it. I was speechless and let me tell you, that's very, very hard to do! They explained that they didn't want to sell it, but keep it in the family. I'm the only one who is musical and they said it was a no-brainer. They said I could consider it a wedding gift.

I have always dreamed of owning a grand piano. I could not thank them enough and even more, it touched my heart that they still consider me family. There are a lot of things I lost in my divorce, but I feel very fortunate that I was able to keep my friendship with them.