Background: Mother-in-law jokes are stock for comedians and TV sit-coms. My wise grandmother always told me, "When you marry somebody, you're marrying their family." In a way, that is SO true, particularly if you live in the same town as your in-laws.
Situation: Margie and Drew were college sweethearts, living at home and going to college in their home town. Right from the start, Drew's mom did everything possible to keep them from dating. Margie dreaded going over to Drew's house and only did so on holidays. When Drew and Margie announced their engagement, Margie's mom was furious. She told them, "Why don't you just live together for a while and let it wear off?"
Several years later, Margie and Drew had a lovely wedding. Everyone worried about Drew's mom behaving herself at the wedding, but she did.
Lessons learned: Drew's mom clearly overstepped her authority by trying to discourage her son's choice in wives. All she earned from this display of hatred over several years was both her son and daughter-in-law's near total avoidance. Now, when they have children, will Drew's mom be trusted to babysit? Will she see them often?
Outcome: After marriage, Drew and Margie moved far, far away. It is very rare they see or even talk with Drew's mother.
In my limited experience, some of the mother-in-laws in the family have been wonderful and some have been horrid - interfering at every chance. This is just another example of bullying. Don't let anyone bully you! Stand up to them; bullies are weak little people who are terrified of losing control.
What about you? I haven't known of any interfering father-in-laws. How do they stack up?
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