Mother-In-Law

Men and Women see the World differently ~ From hosting dinners, to shopping, to watching TV shows, they differ at almost every level. The widest disparity comes in the way a man relates to his mother-in-law and, the way a woman thinks of her own mother-in-law (MIL). The first set is a breeze while the other pair is a storm. I had heard this story years ago and it gives a humorous outlook at it...

A young man visits his mom and tells her that he has decided to propose to the girl of his dreams. But instead of just telling his mom about her, he wants to make it a little interesting!

He plans to bring three women over to dinner at his mom's place and once they spend the evening together, he wants his mom to guess who the chosen one is :) The mom reluctantly accepts.

In a few days, the son arrives with three girls and they all hang out together and have a pleasant evening. Dinner was delicious and the son is now restless to discover and ask his mom who she thinks is his sweetheart. He follows her to the kitchen and excitedly, finally asks his mom, "So do you think you can guess?"

Mom, without blinking an eye says, "It's Eva wearing the blue dress that you wish to propose too." The son is thrilled but cannot believe that his mom knew. He begs asking her, "How did you know?" She puts it bluntly, "Eva is the one I disliked the most!" The young man is beyond belief.

For some inexplicable reason, every new bride craves to get an approval from her MIL more than any other authority in sight. From being overly polite and cooking to impress to looking perfect and happy all the time, these beautiful ladies leave no stone unturned.

As honestly as they try, MIL's make sure that the standards are never met. There always seems to be room for improvement. Try to remember, almost all MIL's have been playing this game, a minimum of 30 years ahead of any daughter in law. To top it, she has also been in her shoes once, as well. For the innocent few, who believe that they have conquered a small piece in the hearts of their MIL's, they seem to forget that it has only been possible because the wiser one makes them believe this fad.

In most cases, a MIL and a daughter-in-law are always at the ends of tug of war. This is because of the same little boy, who became a man, once stole their heart. Both compete for attention and applause without realizing that the person of interest has only one Mom and only one Wife. Frankly, there is no race here. No winner and no loser. You can't lose a race that you don't participate in. This complex relationship lives across generations and nations around the globe. And honestly, for the simple fact that a MIL, quite handsomely, raised a man worthy of our Love, she earns full credit and our sincere gratitude.

Although we feel that men get the best of both World's, remember that their relationships with their own father-in-laws is equally complicated. No matter the decades one has been married, there is some amount of caution always advised. :-)

~ MG