I love my Mother-In-Law

Everytime someone hears that we're taking my Mother-In-Law to Ireland with us, they say, "What, are you CRAZY?"

But they don't know my Mother-In-Law. If it were Darren's MIL we were talking about, they'd have reason to think me insane. LOL! But my MIL... she is a saint.

She always sends birthday cards. EVERY year, without fail. And every year, without fail, she encloses a check for $25 and encourages me to buy something frivolous. (This year, I ordered a set of monogrammed hand towels from Pottery Barn clearance.)

She never forgets my wedding anniversary, and every year, the card says something to the effect of, "You are the best thing that ever happened to Darren."

She's an encourager. She once decorated an accordion file with cute stickers and titled it "I Did It!", and urged me to start saving and filing proof of my accomplishments, to build my (what was then) low self-esteem.

She's demonstrative. Every time she leaves my presence, she kisses me on the cheek and says, "I love you."

When we lived 2 hours apart, she'd sometimes me Dani and me at a Chili's near the halfway point, and we always shared an Awesome Blossom. I don't know if she really liked those deep fried onions, or if she just shared them with me because I liked them so much. :)

She's a wonderful Grandma. What my kids miss in quantity (of time spent together), they make up for in quality. Today, she spent the day here with the boys, allowing me to work while Darren helped his Dad with some projects at his house. While here, she cleaned my kitchen (including mopping, which is a huge chore for her). Then she went upstairs (again, a HUGE deal for her) and helped the boys clean their room. Somehow, they thought it was fun. Must've been 'cause Grandma Nancy was there.

She lets me vent about Darren. I don't do it often (don't need to), but this week, I needed to. And I did. She just smiled and said, in her sweetest voice, "Well, what can I say? He comes by it naturally."

I love you, Nancy! You are a blessing to me, and I oughta tell you that more often. :)