Can We Talk 2

In-Laws

         I had the worst in-laws imaginable. However, I have known a few people who spoke warmly of their in-laws and loved them dearly. My own grandmother hated her mother-in-law because of her sharp tongue. It turns out my grandmother wasn't a very good mother-in-law to my mother either. My dad loved his mother-in-law, and I think she loved hers, at least during my lifetime.

         We know Ruth as the most famous daughter-in-law, so her husband's mother Naomi must have been an ideal in-law. "Wither thou goest. . ." is used in so many contexts. I saw an episode of

the Big Valley where Linda Evans as Audra quoted those words to her mother played by Barbara Stanwyck. I've also heard wives say it to husbands.

         I'm watching The Honeymooners this summer, one of those old shows that's not run ad nauseam. There was a mother-in-law episode that after much vitriol and humor turned out to be tender and endearing to the wife's mother.

         It's a hard job to deal with the younger generation. You see them making mistakes, many of which you also made. You want to give advice, but have to bite your tongue. You can't be a helicopter parent when they're young or when they're grown. You give advice when they ask for it, or maybe hint for it. You have to watch them live their own lives no matter how much it hurts you.

         My in-laws loved drama. They weren't even kind to one another, let alone a newcomer. The bottom line is I just never liked them.