Much has been said and written about mothers in law and most of the stories turn out to be NOT the nicest ones. The Spanish word for Mother in Law, “Suegra”, doesn’t even sound that good and most of my friends talk about their SOs’ mothers in a way where you just can see there is no closeness whatsoever. Me? I’ve been truly blessed, for my mother in law couldn’t be nicer. Sure sometimes she drives me nuts, the same way my husband drives me nuts, the same way the members of my immediate family drive me nuts, but I would be the biggest bitch in the world if I dared to say something bad about her. She is, indeed, a wonderful woman. I’m really lucky to have her in my life.

When I first came to Canada things weren’t that easy because there was a huge cultural gap and despite of her speaking English (a language we had in common because I didn’t speak French), our communication was very concise; I sometimes felt kind of threatened by her self-confidence and I even thought maybe she thought I wasn’t good at anything. But things changed once I learned how to speaking French and I started getting involved in Canada’s society. She’s always been proud of my progress, the new language I acquired, my successful losing weight (she pays for my diet supplements!), my going back to school, my little exploits in whatever there is that I want to do.

Not long ago, when I finally got my Quebec drivers license, I went to “visit” her alone. She was genuinely happy to see me there and since that day we’ve become better friends than we used to be. Gardening, BBQ, sun-tanning (sun-burning for me) on her patio deck, all without Patrice. We don’t need the buffer-boy anymore, we get along and have fun by ourselves and I’m thrilled. She’s my other mother and I love her to pieces. Not to mention her endless generosity. She’s not a “Suegra”, she is my belle-mère, a beautiful mother.

And nope… I’m not looking for her indulgence. She doesn’t even know I wrote this. I’ll just make sure I’ll let her know she’s appreciated.