How to Be a Great Mother-In-Law: Two Inspiring and Humorous Examples for Us All
During this holiday season, meeting up with family can be both wonderful and, yes, painful, or, shall we say, challenging. Given that, I am sharing two inspiring stories for those of us who are mothers-in-law or those of us who will be one in the next decade or so. (It can never hurt to prepare early for this.)
Story 1: Two Rules – Mother-In-Law Advice
A woman I know is famous for her wonderful relationship with her daughters-in-law. A friend who has several young sons asked her what the secret is to great relationships with a daughter-in-law. (She is anticipating the day when she will have multiple daughters-in-law.)
“It’s easy,” she replied. ”All I do is two things. One – I keep my mouth shut. Two – I keep my pocketbook open.” Ahhhh.
Sometimes it is the simplest knowledge that is the most powerful.
Story 2: Setting Things Straight From the Beginning
Another woman I met recently went on about how much she loves her daughter-in-law and how they get along beautifully. Being curious, I asked her her secret. She explained that they set ground rules for their relationship from the beginning. In her case, her daughter-in-law wanted her opinion and advice. However, she didn’t want to be expected to take it and didn’t want her mother-in-law to be hurt or angry if she chose another course of action.
In her case, it seems that the open dialogue and establishing mutual boundaries made all of the difference.
And with those thoughts, I leave you our wishes for a wonderful and family-friendly Thanksgiving holiday. We wish you too many blessings to count and the gratitude to appreciate those blessings.
Let us know if you need us to forward this to someone you know with a “Hint, hint…” in the subject line.
And, of course, if you have any other words of wisdom, do tell…
Other Posts You May Enjoy
Successful Military Homecomings (another story, some other GREAT advice)
I’ve always hoped I would have a mother in law I could get on with… I mean, I’ve always been liked/respected by my other’s mothers, but I go out of my way to create a relationship with them too.
Hope I am a mother-in-law like these ladies.
Smoph,
I couldn’t agree more. These ladies are smart. Knowing this now is really helpful, don’t you think?
Sarah
Loved this piece, especially as my daughter’s wedding is coming up soon. I would add that if you find yourself say to your own offspring “Don’t tell your husband/wife, but . . . “, it’s time to stop in your tracks before uttering another word. It’s never a good idea to ask one spouse to keep information from another. You also risk having one say to the other “my mother said not to tell you this, but . . .”, which is not something that will endear you to your son/daughter in-law.
Ginny,
This is a really wise comment… as a parent, you really have to change your modus operandi, don’t you? I wish you good luck.
Sarah
Just wanted to give you a shout from the valley of the sun, great information. Much appreciated.
I Like you on FB and I follow you on Twitter
Let us know if you need us to forward this to someone you know with a “Hint, hint…” in the subject line.
LOL! I think you provide is great advice
I wish my MIL would read this article!
Thanks! foxsquirrelrabbit at gmail dot com
I like the idea of setting ground rules. IF everyone stayed in their boundries there would be less stress all around.