Making Good Great; A Marriage Blog BY Heather Hansen

I wanted to talk about in-laws in my post this week. It is often the running joke about a mother-in-law coming to visit. We don’t always hear of good relationships with the in-laws. I always thought that anyone who married into my family was lucky to have my parents as in-laws. Then it went a little further in my thoughts about how fun my siblings are. I thought about how our family has flaws, and makes mistakes, but we are fun, and I know I can always count on my family when help is needed. But, marrying into a loud and crazy family was a bit overwhelming for my husband at first. He has become very close to my dad and one of my siblings. For him that is a big step. My dad has taken on a role as a father for him and my husband is grateful for that. He still feels a bit overwhelmed at family gatherings, and I am o.k. when he retreats to another room to watch a game. When I met my husband, he didn’t talk about his parents much. As we became closer, I learned that he didn’t have a rel...

While standing in the kitchen this week, my husband had a thought he wanted to bounce off me. He wanted to know why we live with our parents for 18 years under their direction just fine. And then after we move and they come for a visit, they might be ready to leave after a few days. It was funny to me that he brought that up. His mother was just in town. We only see her every few years and does not share our beliefs and has an opinion about a lot of our parenting practices. After a few days she was ready to go home.  I am grateful that my husband doesn’t run home to his mom for help to run the household, but it was interesting to see that it really bothered her when I asked my kids to “brush their teeth” or “get ready for bed”. She mentioned that I should let them do it on their time. When I drove her to the airport, she said that we have a lot of rules and kids can’t live like that. Dr. John Rosemond counseled: “Give your children regular, daily doses of Vitamin N. This vital nut...