It serves me right.
Right after my post on Jewish mothers, I got a call from The Boy's mother. Normally, this would be superweird and awkward because, well -- we've never really talked before and certainly not over the phone. According to the trusted iPhone, the conversation lasted 9 minutes and 4 seconds and at the end of it, I determined:
1. She may be the cutest woman alive -- seriously, she sounds like Angela Lansbury. How can someone who sounds like Mrs. Potts be intimidating? That's right: it's impossible.
2. I am mistaken if I think every mother-in-law will be like my mother. See, my mom hates when one of her kids is in a relationship. (The one and only time my brother brought a girl home, my mother made her cry on the couch. Pretty good, I know.) At any rate, The Boy's mother is nothing like this -- she is really, really happy that her son is dating me and it's not contrived. This is so totally foreign that I don't really know what to make of it; I'm only equipped to deal with crazy mothers, protective wolf-pack mothers, judgmental mothers.
Now, it's not like I'm trying to look a gift horse in the mouth; I know I'm lucky to have such a nice situation. So while I'm elated to be in this position, here's what I don't love: thinking for the first time ever that someone else's mother may be better than mine at even a single thing. Is that something that you just get over because it's childish? Because I was under the impression that you're supposed to think the world of your parents until forever....
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2 hours ago
6 comments:
oh she sounds nice now, just wait until she's a mother in law... :-)
ha, my mom did the same thing- hated on every guy I brought home until i didn't bother bringing them home anymore. And those were the jewish ones!
I love my in-laws. I talk to my father in law on facebook and we read each other's blogs (he comments on mine sometimes and I comment on his) and now he calls me instead of my husband when he has something to say. :) I love my in-laws in general...whenever I tell people I'm going on a 2 week vacation with them next week people are like "ha that must suck" but I really am looking forward to hanging out with them. It's kinda shocking to me, and also really nice. :)
you are hard to satisfy..
My in-laws were very accepting. After what they'd had to go through in their day she could have brought home a three-headed Martian.
Mine, not so much. They treated her poorly. My sisters tried to whipsaw her. It didn't work. She's much tougher.
My mother in particular was very cold. Soon after the wedding she warmed up, and now she and my wife like each other. My wife explained that last one - "We had a territorial dispute. You were the territory. I won. She's gracious in defeat."
Good luck, Nameless-Faceless. It's more than worth it in the long run. Your family is your past. Your boyfriend is your future.
My family is slowly coming around to the idea of The Boy, but it's different everyday.
AE: Until this, I would never have believed anyone saying that about their in-laws. I mean, my parents are a special case - they've been family friends for the last hundred years and four countries. Other than that, no good in-law relationships in the entire family.
DG: I can't even imagine attempting a territorial takeover -- the most I could muster is welcomed occupation :) Good for your wife....
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