My Mother-in-Law

My mother-in-law's birthday is very soon. I don't like to post anything on my family's actual birthdays because it can be an emotional time for me. Let me share a few memories of her visits to Oklahoma and where I got to know her best and we where we could visit for hours and hours while my hubby was at work.

1. She was such a sweet lady and a wonderful and kind mother-in-law to me. This time of the year makes me think of her more often. She didn't drive so her transportation was limited to taxis, walking, and other's generosity. She tended to use taxis more because she never wanted to impose. At least once a year, we would go get her and bring her to our home to spend a week or as long as we could get her to stay. If she stayed too long, she would get antsy.

2. She hardly ever ate between meals, but she never turned down a hot piece of cornbread in the middle of the afternoon or morning when I would make dressing for Thanksgiving. This memory always makes me cry - always! So if you are at my house on the day before Thanksgiving when I make cornbread or any other time I make it, watch for waterworks! I hardly ever buy buttermilk, but when she went with me to the grocery store, I would buy buttermilk just for her. When we would unload the groceries (and yes, she helped me), we would have our little glasses of buttermilk. To this day, I never buy buttermilk or make cornbread without thinking of her. I will be buying buttermilk again this fall and will raise my glass to her. I hope I never forget.

3. When she came for a visit, we would make time for an afternoon of manicures while watching Days of Our Lives. I remember her having the prettiest fingernails especially for her age. They were always shaped so nicely. I would give her the whole works, soaking, filing, and a polish. I think she loved it, she loved Days of Our Lives, but hated Joan Rivers' show. (I did, too.)

4. When she would visit at Christmas, we could always count on her to have that wrapping paper stuffed in trash bags as soon a present was open. We laugh about that because there were a lot of presents for our little ones.

5. She would watch daytime TV so she was so easily entertained. I just loved her visits and perhaps that was because I knew the week would be just for her. My weekly routine of running here or there, i.e. school events, were curtailed. It was just relaxing and calming to have her here. Her visits were some of my happiest memories and I am sincere when I say that.

Oh gosh, there are so many memories of this sweet lady. I could go on for pages and pages about her attributes, but I might get a little too sentimental. We'd all be crying. I will end this by saying that she was a wonderful grandmother to my children, a wonderful example to me of what a mother-in-law should be, and her kind gentle nature influenced her son (my hubby) in positive ways more than she ever knew.