I like the phrase monster-in-law. A lot. It makes me giggle. I have friends who have monsters-in-law and the horror stories they tell make me super glad to say I don't have one. Instead, I have a friend, partner-in-crime and all around beautiful woman, who is sometimes the only person I will listen to when it comes to things I don't want to hear. You see, some day in the near future (fingers-crossed (not for this reason)) we won't legally be related on paper anymore. Which means this relationship is all the more special because she chooses to keep me in the family even though she doesn't have to. I have the world's best mother in law. My only regret is not getting to know her sooner. Last year, I reached a point when I felt like I had no one else to turn to and she was the one who threw down whatever she was doing to come offer me a hug and smile. When it felt like my world was falling apart, she was the first one to assure me that it was not, and that I wasn't alone. From the very beginning, she has welcomed me into her heart and home, and has never said one negative thing to me. (And there were times when I probably deserved it.) It takes a whole different level of motherhood to be a good mother-in-law. That's what's so awesome about Linda. She doesn't have to love me, and being that I'm her youngest son's, soon to be ex-wife, society says that there are enough reasons to write me off and forget I exist. I could be the crazy ex daughter-in-law she has to put up with to see the kids. But I have never once felt that way. Matt and I were together for six years, and from day one, she has always treated me like more than family - like a friend. She was the mother figure I needed when I wouldn't listen to my own. And I will never be able to express what that has meant to me. I hope that I can learn from her example and remember this when Oliver (you know, 50 years from now) brings a girl home. I pray that I can make her feel like one of the family and someone who is not just tolerated for the sake of family peace, but loved. That's how I feel around my mother-in-law - that she genuinely just likes me for me. And you don't find that everywhere.
The past year wasn't just rough on me. Our entire family was split apart by this divorce and other external factors. There were plenty of times when she could have gotten mad or tried to get even for something that went wrong, but the only reaction I ever witnessed was one of love and generosity. I'm glad my kids have a role model to look up to in their Nana. She has a lot to teach them and I look forward to learning from her myself. Linda, thank you for everything. It's quite possible that I would not have made it through 2013 without you.
PS - I had planned to do one a day, but I will be swamped tomorrow, so I went ahead and posted early.
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