I looked at Mother in Laws differently until I became one.

When a couple gets married the Lord’s way they build eternal relationships — relationships that will never end. If we and extended family are true to temple covenants, not only will the husband-wife relationship be eternal, so will our ties with extended family and in-laws.

When I got married at 18, my parents encouraged us to go away together to school to solidify our own relationship.  IT was the best advice for us.  When we returned to our home town two years later, we had learned to rely on each other.  While I knew that I could come to my parents for support for any situation, when I would complain about my husband to them, they ALWAYS pointed out all of his good qualities to me.  They were a friend to our marriage first and foremost. If they had any worries about my husband, I never knew about them.  Once when my mom saw that life with young children was wearing us down, she told me that she would babysit so my husband and I could go away for a long weekend alone.  We decided we needed to make that an annual or semi annual event.  

While raising our children, we lived on the same street where my husband grew up and his parents still lived in the house he grew up in right up the street from us.  To some people that would be difficult.  For us, it was not.  Often we would only see them on Sundays at church.  We were raising our busy family and they were busy with their lives.   What could have been a really difficult situation was really wonderful for all of us because they knew that we should and did cleave to each other but we lived close enough for our children to have a sweet relationship with their grandparents.  

This last week was the one year anniversary of my husband's death.  While my loss and the loss to my children is great, it is just as great to my mother and father in law and to my husband's siblings. We decided to spend the day with my in laws sharing memories and being together.  IT was such a sweet experience and one that made me realize in a way that I hadn't allowed them to be my parents, I had limited their relationship with me never in any overt way because we have always gotten along but in a very emotional way.  With my new found view of eternity and eternal families, those limitations are falling away and it is sweet indeed.