I remember the first Thanksgiving when my sister decided to spend the holiday weekend with her serious boyfriend’s family instead of coming home.  It also happened to be the Thanksgiving when my brother decided to spend the holiday travelling with his girlfriend instead of coming home.  I spent the holiday with my parents and other close relatives, but I knew that it was a big deal that we had all reached the age where we might not all spend every holiday together anymore.
Missing holidays with your family to be with your significant other’s family is a pretty big deal.  Not …read more

If you have been dating for weeks or years, meeting your significant other’s family for the first time is a big deal.  If you ask people for advice, they will all probably say “be yourself,” but I actually think that for such a big occasion there are a lot more things to keep in mind.  A successful relationship with your in-laws requires a balance between being yourself and adjusting to accomodate the differences that exist between their family and yours.
Here are some tips for succeeding when meeting the in-laws for the first time:

Be polite. This is your chance to use …read more

Paul and I are fortunate that both of us have very reasonably laidback parents. They are very different (our whole families are very different) but everyone pretty much gets along. Most importantly, Paul gets along with my parents and I get along with his parents.
So really, my title should be “How to be totally lucky”.
I have met some people who really claim to loathe their in-laws. Paul’s mom has often said how grateful she is that we all like each other, as if we somehow escaped something horrible and monsterous.
While I would like to think it is always our charming …read more

So, I heard this today and did a little checking around and…sure enough…the Mom in Law is moving in  with them “for now”.
The phrase sends chills down my spine.

Okay, maybe not yours or mine, but your parents’ or mine?
For the first time in 10 years, we live in the same area as both my mom and Bald Man’s parents. While my mom was the “lucky” one to be the only parent/grandparent around for years, she now has to share her precious time (okay, so we know it’s about the grandkids and not us) with the other grandparents.
And now, I have to give up some of my “relaxing at mom’s house” time for visiting the in-laws.
Let me be clear and say that I really do get along with …read more

I was sitting in front of King of Queens the other night and ended up watching (again) what I think was the pilot episode. In case you haven’t seen it, the basic idea is that Doug and Carrie have just finished setting up the basement with a couch, sports pennants, and a big screen TV. Doug and his buds are so psyched to have a place to hang, and then…..
Arthur (Carrie’s dad) burns his house down and now needs a place to stay. And guess how quickly the not-so-bachelor pad turns into a father-in-law’s apartment of sorts. …read more