thank YOU! Thursday: Someone who surprised you

Dear Mare, 

It's safe to say that we got off to a rocky start, some thirteen years ago.  Its a hard thing being two grades older than your boyfriend as his first serious girlfriend.  I imagine its even harder to be the mom of a boy who's first serious girlfriend is two grades older than him.  (Something I have to look forward to years from now, I'm sure).  But regardless of how it may have been then, you've surprised me.  We have surprised me.

You surprised me when you found a way to get on an airplane again so we could all vacation together.  You surprised me when you told the captain of our snorkeling boat that you were fine and we can keep sailing just so that we could enjoy the trip, even though you were so seasick. You surprise me when I say chocolate covered pretzels are my favorite candy in passing and they show up in my Christmas stocking.  You surprise me when you go along with all my weird little ideas about parenting without any question.  You surprise me when you recap how you told all your coworkers to read my most recent blog posts (hi, Marianne's coworkers!).

We surprise me when we simultaneously roll our eyes at our guys' obsession with hunting and all things camo.  We surprise me when we make trips together to New York or to the Italian restaurant to each eat 12 lbs of pasta or to the nail salon to celebrate our own little first day of trout tradition.  We surprise me because pop culture hasn't painted our relationship; mothers in law & daughters in law, with a very good rep in the history books.  

But the thing that has surprised me the most is how we have helped each other understand the difference between a man's love for his wife and and his love for his mother - which sometimes is what feels like a competition for other women in our same relationship.  We have, over time, learned together that the love is totally different and incomparable; I could never take your place and you could never take mine.  And because we understand and respect that, we can get past petty arguments and get on with being the two most important women in the same man's life.  (By the way, Booboo's future girlfriends and wife will thank you for helping me learn that early on.)

So, let this post go down in the record books right alongside all those bad examples of mothers in law and daughters in law.  You should know how lucky I feel that my husband (and my best friend) has a mother like you.

 

love you, 

Queenie

Since we're now entering the summer months and things are getting a little busy over here, I'm going to spread out my thank YOU! Thursday writing project.  I'll still be writing (and offering a chance to link up) but will be doing so each third Thursday of every month.  What can I say, I like alliteration - hah.  thank YOU! third Thursdays :)

Next thank YOU! Thursday (third Thursday of June):  Someone who is present