In-laws can bring out some pretty negative emotions. I feel like it isn’t very common to hear people have a lot of positive things to say about their mother- or father-in-law. I’m in the minority here because I hit the jackpot when it comes to my husband’s parents. I’m not always the best at speaking my thoughts and feelings clearly, but I’m good with words when it comes to writing. This is my open thank you to them. These are the things that I could never thank them enough for…
Coming to the rescue when I’ve had car problems (or any problem for that matter). Aside from my husband, my father-in-law is the first person I call for help if something is wrong with my car or if something is broken that I cannot fix when my husband isn’t home.
Teaching me. My mother-in-law has been one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. She is the best example for me to look up to as a mother. She has so many wise life lessons. She can hear me vent about a situation, listen thoroughly and then give me a new way to think about it that I hadn’t considered. She’s the first person I call when I need advice – especially about mom stuff.
When my husband goes out of town for work, they always call me to see if we need anything. They usually invite us over for dinner because they know it’s incredibly helpful when the kids are growing tired of just me. It helps bridge that gap between late afternoon and bedtime.
My mother-in-law always asks how she can help me. I’ll send her a text about a bad day or something that one of the kids has done that left me exhausted, and she always responds with, “How can I help?” I will never take that for granted.
Loving our kids. They take the time to teach them, bake with them, and play with them. They listen so intently, and never make them feel like their problems are insignificant. The amount of time they spend doing these things at our family farm is abundant and so important. I know our kiddos will remember these days spent at the farm.
Having such a strong work-ethic. They taught my husband how to be a hard worker. In turn, this is being taught to our children. They know the value of hard work and that you have to earn things. But they also teach our kids to play hard. They’re always up for an adventure. We’ve had so many trips to the Kansas Aviation Museum and to see Doc’s B-29 museum. Our oldest son loves aviation and so does my mother-in-law. The wealth of knowledge they have and talk about together is amazing.
When our oldest son was having some sensory processing issues, my mother-in-law took it upon herself to do research and educate herself about what sensory processing disorder is, how to help it and how to cope as a parent to a child with SPD needs. By doing this, she was always able to help calm a meltdown or provide exactly what our son needed.
They love me for who I am. For so long I identified myself as coming from a broken family so therefore I was broken. But I wasn’t, and I’m not. I’m strong and independent and had to learn a lot about life at an earlier age than many. They help me see this in myself. They help me recognize that I am capable and that I can do hard things. They drove four hours to watch me receive my Bachelors degree and took pictures and told me how proud they were of me. I don’t remember a time where I felt more loved and emotional. They encourage me and support me in every way they can. They help me (and my husband) get through tough times. After our third son was born, postpartum anxiety came on fast. My in-laws took care of our older two children while we stayed an extra five days in the hospital. They did anything they could think of to help me get through this. Even it was just letting me come over during the day for a change of scenery after my husband’s paternity leave was up. They tell me that I’m a good mom and a good wife to their son. There is no bigger or better compliment I could ever receive from anyone that would make me feel the way this does.
My in-laws were the first real example I had as to what a good, strong, loving and healthy relationship/marriage looked like. My husband and I started dating when I was 15. I remember going over to his house and seeing his parents watching a movie and eating popcorn together. They were enjoying being with one another. I had never seen something like this since my parents divorced but even when they were married, they weren’t affectionate towards each other. This brought tears to my eyes. I remember trying to explain to my husband why it made me so emotional and happy. He had no idea how lucky he was.
Most of all, I want to thank my in-laws for being true parents to me. They do what parents do for their children and they’ve included me in that. I have never been so grateful for this and there is no way I could ever repay them for the positive impact they’ve had on the person I’ve grown up to be.
