Dear mother in law with the married son,
I receive weekly emails from women who are so frustrated by their relationships with their mother in law. All they want is to feel loved and appreciated by them, yet they feel judged and torn down. They’re tired of criticism, of cutting remarks, of never feeling good enough. I hear from more wives distraught over their mother in law than wives distraught over their husbands.
I know there are two sides to every story, and that you want the best for your son, but please, give his wife some grace! She’ll love you for it, and it would mean the world to him too. After all, he picked her because he loves her, and he wants you to love her too.
The way you treat your son and daughter-in-law makes a huge impact on their marriage. You have the ability to build them up or cause friction between them. Take that power and use it to encourage them and strengthen your relationship with them.
You have a lot more experience, but your daughter-in-law is probably trying her very hardest. She may not have a perfectly clean house or parent her children exactly the way you would, but she is caring for her family in the best way she knows. She loves and adores them, and that’s what is most important.
