Mothers-in-law 14/4/10
Traditionally, they are seen as intimidating figures in a pinny, wearing curlers, clutching a rolling pin and with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp! That may have been years ago, but not so the ‘new’ mothers-in-law. They are much more subtle in their looks and demeanor. They attend gym, go to beauty parlours, wear fake tan, dress stylishly and subscribe to Saga magazine! Or not!
You either love them, or not!
It all depends on on how much they tend to interfere in the lives of their family.
I am blessed with a great mother-in-law. In the forty three years that her son and I have been married she has never interfered. She has only done me good. My own mother, who passed away this year, was also great and never interfered.
Are we the exception?
I would like to think not.
Being a mother-in-law myself, I have done my best to be there when needed without being
a pain! I do hope this is the case, of not then, all I can ask of our children is mercy!!
There are many advantages to having me around, like babysitting. I do my best to help out with the children when I can. Sometimes I sit with the grandchildren in their own home. This has added benefits for the parents, as it includes for general tidying of the ‘hoose’ and also the following:
Washing machine emptied and clothes dried.
Clothes folded and put away.
Dishwasher emptied and stacked.
Rubbish gets put out.
Children are asked to tidy room. Now this has great benefits, as they are more likely to comply with Grannie than Mummy and it can save hours of arguments, bad attitudes, stress and all the stuff that comes with asking your children to tidy their rooms! If you have children you know the deal!
Children get fed, washed, and dressed for bed. Depending on time parents return, this could also include for bedtime snacks, stories, prayers and hopefully will fall sound asleep.
What bliss.
The alternative is watching them at my home.
The benefits with that are as follows:
I don’t have to sit and wait till the parents get back before I get to bed.
I feed them and stack my own dishwasher!
I get them ready for bed, so all the parents have to do when they get home is send them straight upstairs.
Now, a very special benefit for the parents is, if they are returning home very late, it usually is easier for me to put them to bed here and get them picked up in the morning.
The parents really, really like this one.
And again, what bliss.
I am also close to my two daughters-in-law and am so blessed that they are married to our sons. They take care of them well and I am a friend to them. I have learned not to give advice until it’s asked for. This is very important. I also can ask the right questions, in the right way to help when I feel it’s needed. If it’s not needed then I back off real quick. I don’t want to be one of those interfering in laws whose visits are dreaded.
My husband and I are ever grateful to our son-in-law, who is a great man. He looks after our daughter well and is great with the children. My husband says he has saved us so much money by marrying our daughter!! Some people comment on how our daughter looks like me, so he has the added benefit of knowing what she will look like in twenty years time! Scary stuff!!
He was heard to comment once that he hadn’t spoken to me in 18 months, because he didn’t want to interrupt me!
The last time he took me to the airport, he referred to it as a pleasure trip!!
He can always tell when I’m coming to stay. The mice throw themselves on the traps!!!
I do hope you know the above are some mother-in-law jokes.
There are more, like,
I took my mother-in-law to Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors and one of the attendants said, ‘Keep moving her sir, we’re stock-taking!
We got a new car for the mother-in-law. That government scrappage scheme is great!
The statistics are 47% of men said they didn’t like their mother-in-law and 53% said they loved her. Love her or not, she is part of the deal. So guys, before you commit make sure you get on with the mother-in-law.
The myth that you are marrying the girl and not her family is not so. When you marry the girl or the guy, the family is part of the package, so make sure it’s workable.
Now if you do have an interfering mother-in-law, then I commiserate with you. It’s not everyone who is nice and sweet like me!
Perhaps you could do something nice for her, or send her a card to let her know she is appreciated. Remember, there are great benefits in having her around, if even occasionally!
Life is so daily, just like those visits from your mother-in-law, so stay sweet!
Nan
