Blessed

Last night I was watching TV and the trailer for the movie "P.S. I Love You" came on. I made the mistake of reading this book shortly after I had gotten married and pretty much cried my way through it. It's a great story, but one that really hit a nerve for me. I knew they were turning the book into a movie, but didn't know who was being cast. So, as I'm watching the trailer, I notice that Hilary Swank is starring and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is playing the love interest. He is most recently known for playing Denny Duquette on Grey's Anatomy. <3 <3 Great casting IMO.

My mother-in-law is the one the got me hooked on Grey's Anatomy. I was having dinner with the in-laws on the night of the third season finale and we watched it together --- and proceeded to bawl our way through the final scene. Ever since then, I've been hooked. Denny is still one of our favorite characters from the show, so when I saw this trailer, my first thought was to call my MIL and see if she had seen it yet.

She was home when I called, so I told her about the movie (she has read the book so she was familiar that a movie was being made, but like me, hadn't seen the trailer) and then we proceeded to chat about other random stuff for the next half-hour. Keeping in mind, of course, I'm seeing them tonight for dinner, too.

After I hung up, I realized just how special that conversation really was. Sure, we weren't talking about anything all that important, but the fact that I can call my MIL out of the blue to discuss a movie trailer is pretty darn cool... and I think rare. I'm always calling my own mom to tell her silly little things that happened or just to chit chat for a minute, but to be developing the same type of relationship with my MIL is something I'm so proud of.

I love that our relationship is such that I'm comfortable having dinner with her (and my father-in-law) every couple weeks sans the husband, that we can talk to each other frankly and express varying opinions on issues without the other person taking offense, that she feels comfortable conviding in me about things that are personal to her, that I can call her randomly to tell her about something I saw or heard. It helps, of course, that my in-laws are far from overbearing and are very careful to give us our space as a married couple (no random drop-ins or incessant phone calls from them ever). And that in turn, has made me much more keen on keeping them involved in our lives and treating them the way I treat my own parents.

I'm just so very blessed to have not only found the perfect husband for me, but to have also found a family that has welcomed me with open arms and has never been a source of stress for me as an individual or us as a couple. And my MIL is a huge part of that. And for that, I will always be grateful.