Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Thankful Thursday - MIL

I KNOW. It's only Wednesday. 
Well, I got my American Idol days messed up. I thought the first night of shows was last night. It's tonight. So I'm switching my entries around. 

Over at The Mommy Project, she says you can be 25% happier if you are thankful. I'm very thankful because I have the BEST mother-in-law. Some people hate their MIL's, so I know how blessed and fortunate I am to have this incredible woman in my life. 
1. We are friends.
My MIL and I became friends when J and I were best friends. Our friendship continued long distance. In fact, she manipulated the situation for J and I to reunite. Okay, manipulate is a strong word, but it's fun thinking about how her eyebrow just raised when she read that word. Hahaha.

2. Make everyday special
DonnaMomma taught me to use the expensive dishes everyday, on the people I love. She gave all 3 of us girls Henn Workshop dishes. We knew it was awesome, but none of us really realized how amazing this gift was until we had to start replacing pieces her sons (son-in-law) broke. I am VERY thankful for our dish set.
3. Live in your whole home
DonnaMomma's living room and dining room are just that - for living and dining. I grew up not allowed to go into our formal living and dining rooms, except when company came over. Her house is ginormous, so she could easily set these rooms aside. But every room in her house is used for living and life.

4. Great mom
My MIL raised a great son and a wonderful husband. For this, I am VERY thankful. She instilled some amazing values in him and fostered his talents. My husband and his mom have such a good relationship, which makes my life that much more wonderful.

5. Great grandmother
I am so thankful for all the times my MIL cared for our son and daughter. At the time, when our son would spend the weekend over there, I knew we were really, really lucky. These days, we are very fortunate they travel to visit us as often as they do.
Come on. You had to know I was going to use this picture of her. It's such a stark contrast to who she is. Sort of. Her husband traveled a lot for work, which meant she had to do some man things around the house. If the horses got out, she was the one in the rain, fixing a fence. When a snake came close to the house, near her daughter, she got a shovel and killed it. So while my MIL really IS a little, sweet, gentle woman, there is a strength within her. And that is what this photo represents to me.

What are you thankful for?

2 comments:

jasonwidney said...

awe, She really is amazing!

Jen said...

And she is very lucky to have you as a daughter-in-law, too.

I also had a wonderful mother-in-law.

It sounds like you and I are/were both blessed in that way.

So I'm thankful for my beautifully-spirited, gentle, lovely, witty, funny, kind Fran, who I miss every day.