Amen for My Mother In Law

On this day 71 years ago, my life was blessed even though I hadn't been born or even thought of yet.

See, it was on this day 71 years ago that the whirling tornado I call my mother-in-law popped into this world and gave it a spin and shake that is still being felt all over the globe.

She's a pistol, my mother-in-law. All, roughly, 5ft of her. She's full of force and humour, ready to tell you exactly what she thinks, ready to find a way to help you, even if you don't think you need the help.

She's been through an incredible amount of tough things in her life like living through London being bombed in WWII, losing children, losing her mother, dealing with long term health issues, and not to mention watching her son marry an American. But through all this, she's kept a sense of joy about her.

It's without a doubt that there will always be moments when we are all together that we start laughing about the silliest of things, poking fun of each other and the way we are. She'll laugh until there are tears running down her face, her beautiful face, smiling and full of mirth.

She's a worrier though, the constant worrier. Which in some ways is good, because that means we don't have to worry. She's doing it for us. She's also a stickler for being organized and well planned out. (I must drive her insane since I'm so not organized!) She comes across as the epitome of the proper English woman, until you take her out to dinner and get her laughing over popping off in a train tunnel.

She's also very tough, my mother-in-law. She's got some good opinions on things and won't hesitate sharing them. This could be a sticking point in any mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship but it seems to work well for us. I come from a family of strong women and we could easily adopt her.

I had no idea what to expect in a mother-in-law but I have to admit, I got one much better than I ever dreamed of. Yes, I'm know we drive each other crazy, but it's thanks to her (and Grand-dad) that I have such a wonderful Hubster. (Of course, I blame them when he drives me nuts but we'll stick with the positives today, OK?)

71 years ago today, my mother-in-law was born.

I hope today she's had a chance to celebrate and know how much we love her and are grateful for her in our lives.