Breaking the In-Law Stereotype

Posted by Rhonda Langefeld Dec 19, 2006

As far as I can tell, the jury is still out on which mother receives the most negative press--the husband's mother or the wife's. But stereotypes are always an insult to real people, people who may be doing their best to work with the relationships they've been given. People who love the spouses that their children have chosen to marry.

On the acknowledgements page of his book Keys to Great Writing, author Stephen Wilbers honors his mother-in-law with these words. "I also want to offer special thanks to my wife's mother Dorothy, whose pride I take pride in..."

There is something in those words that has always moved me.

What if, today, we all chose to honor our mothers-in-law in some way? Whether they are fabulous mothers-in-law, average ones, merely adequate, or if they wouldn't know a good relationship if it hit them over the head. What if we honored them today?