Some people get married and don't like their in-laws. I'm not one of those people. In fact, I'd say I made out pretty well.
On one hand, my wife's mother's family stretches from the West Coast to the East Coast and is wonderful all around. Great aunt's, good cousins, loyal and loving fathers and mothers, and generally fine people with fine values and excepting hearts. They greet you with a hug, and they leave you with the same. They shoot straight, and they're good with a story.
On the other hand is my wife's father's family, of whom I saw and spent time with many this weekend. They also shoot straight, they also greet and depart with hugs, and they're also good people with strong attachments to one another.
Like anyone else with in-laws, I'm closer to some of them than others, and I get to see some more than others, as well. But in general, the thing that attracts me to all of them is their sense of family and their ties that bind. I admire that. I see the value my wife puts into and how much it means to her, and I admire that, as well.
When my wife tells me so and so is coming to visit and is going to stay a while, I don't start making plans to be gone. I don't start griping or complaining. I don't immediately ask, "For how long?" I look forward to those visits. I look forward to the sense of community it creates. I like hearing old stories. I like hearing new ones, too. I like watching my kids interact with their relatives and creating bonds that I hope will carry on into future generations. I like meeting the new little ones and seeing how it's changing their parents, many of whom I've watched grow up from afar. I like seeing them start news lives, and I like watching their parents look on with worry and pride and happiness. I like sharing meals and experiences. I like taking part in customs that were born long before me and carried on throughout the generations. I like seeing respect and honor paid to the older generations. I do like these visits, and I'm grateful they occur.
My in-laws on both sides of my wife's family are like my own. Diverse. Opinionated. Honorable. Real. It's good to be part of what they've created. I'm grateful my children will always have that resource to go back to again and again as needed.
On one hand, my wife's mother's family stretches from the West Coast to the East Coast and is wonderful all around. Great aunt's, good cousins, loyal and loving fathers and mothers, and generally fine people with fine values and excepting hearts. They greet you with a hug, and they leave you with the same. They shoot straight, and they're good with a story.
On the other hand is my wife's father's family, of whom I saw and spent time with many this weekend. They also shoot straight, they also greet and depart with hugs, and they're also good people with strong attachments to one another.
Like anyone else with in-laws, I'm closer to some of them than others, and I get to see some more than others, as well. But in general, the thing that attracts me to all of them is their sense of family and their ties that bind. I admire that. I see the value my wife puts into and how much it means to her, and I admire that, as well.
When my wife tells me so and so is coming to visit and is going to stay a while, I don't start making plans to be gone. I don't start griping or complaining. I don't immediately ask, "For how long?" I look forward to those visits. I look forward to the sense of community it creates. I like hearing old stories. I like hearing new ones, too. I like watching my kids interact with their relatives and creating bonds that I hope will carry on into future generations. I like meeting the new little ones and seeing how it's changing their parents, many of whom I've watched grow up from afar. I like seeing them start news lives, and I like watching their parents look on with worry and pride and happiness. I like sharing meals and experiences. I like taking part in customs that were born long before me and carried on throughout the generations. I like seeing respect and honor paid to the older generations. I do like these visits, and I'm grateful they occur.
My in-laws on both sides of my wife's family are like my own. Diverse. Opinionated. Honorable. Real. It's good to be part of what they've created. I'm grateful my children will always have that resource to go back to again and again as needed.
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