Got In-Laws? One Great Way You Can Grow Closer

If you go east on Reserve Street toward the Swan Mountain Range, you can take a left onto our street.

If you go west on Reserve Street toward the Thompson Lakes, you can take a right onto my mother-in-law’s street.

Living only 10 minutes apart you would think we would see each other all the time, but that’s not what happens.

She and her sister live together, and they’re busy with their Bible study ladies and serving at church. They go to water aerobics class and watch my little nephew play soccer.

And we’re busy over our direction, with Matt counseling and preparing sermons, me writing blog posts and Spanish lesson plans, and that 17-year-old who sleeps at our house always on the go.

So we pass my mother-in-law with a quick hug at church and an occasional dinner at her house, but I wish for more.

Well, this week some friends of ours were moving, so we offered them our house while they were displaced for four days.

We packed up and went to my mother-in-law’s and her sister’s house for a three-night sleepover.

It was so fun.

We felt like we were on vacation, with clean sheets and wonderful suppers prepared for us. We enjoyed a slow breakfast coffee and chatting together. One night I graded papers while we all critiqued episodes of Gold Diggers, and then the sports enthusiasts cheered on the Chicago Cubs.

We didn’t even have to take off time from work or spend money on gas and a hotel.

I think about when we visit my mom in Wyoming and how special it is when we go there because we’re all there. You know what I mean? We’re all the way there –not just popping in for an hour or two.

A different kind of connection and closeness happens when we live in the house together for a few days.

I know I would enjoy my daughter and her new husband coming to have an occasional sleepover at our house, even when they live in the same town as us. (Did I say that loudly enough for her to hear? I SAID –I WOULD LOVE FOR MY GROWN KIDS TO COME FOR A SLEEPOVER.)

I’m all about subtlety.

On a sober note, my dad went to be with the Lord just eight months ago, at the age of 67.

Now I am looking at our moms and knowing time with them is precious. There is no promise of how long we will get to hang out with them on this earth.

Of course, I have no idea what your relationship is with your parents or in-laws, but if you have a healthy relationship that you would like to enrich, try pulling out the calendar and planning a few days to stay together.

*Your turn: What are some of your favorite things to do with your in-laws? Your best memories? Please share!

Christy Fitzwater is a pastor’s wife south of the border (Canadian, that is.) She has two children –a newly married daughter and a son who is a senior in high school, although she is in denial about the latter. Christy is a librarian’s daughter and an English major who loves the smell of a new book and freshly sharpened pencils but who occasionally can be seen in a kayak as her one claim to athleticism. Living in Kalispell, Montana she teaches high school Spanish at a Christian school in the afternoons and spends the mornings writing her devotional blog, Off the Shelf. Her greatest desire is to help people know and understand who God is. You can also find her at Pinterest and Twitter.



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