The Mother-in-law

It all started when I first brought my daughter home from hospital. I couldn’t fit into any of my tops, my boobs had grown that much I was busting out of everything. I remember scoffing at the lovely Mothercare sales lady’s prediction that I’d grow to an E cup. But it turns out, she was right. I was so sore down below post birth that I cried every day at 5pm for five days. To even think about getting in a car, bumping along the road to the shops and walking around choosing clothes was just a horrendous idea (Hah, never thought I’d say that!).  However, before you can say ‘online shopping’, in breezed my Mother-in-law, swiftly producing a miraculous pile of vest tops and buttoned shirts for me. I can’t tell you how relieved and grateful I was!

Ah, the Mother-in-law. So often when this creature is mentioned, eyes roll and a tut occurs. It seems that many fall into the following camp; “they do help with the kids BUT...” I have to say - honestly -  mine is fabulous! She is my Fairy Godmother. With a wave of her hand she has fixed what is broken, sorted what needs sorting and cleaned what is dirty, this includes my daughter. I wouldn’t want to imagine life without her.

After I gave birth to her granddaughter, she then proceeded to visit us daily. If she arrived when Emily was crying, she’d take her and swaddle her in a way I never, ever mastered and have her asleep within minutes. Then she’d whizz round the kitchen and tidy everything up, set the dishwasher away and head home like it was no big deal. It felt like she did everything with a ‘bibbidi-bobbidi-boo’ and everything she touched magically flew to where it was supposed to be. We were very thankful.

Since I returned to work, Fairy Godmother has looked after Emily every Friday and picks her up from nursery if I work late. She plays and plays with Emily with the energy of a 20-year-old. She often babysits on Saturdays so the husband and I can have a night out. She even took me and Emily on holiday!

Recently, she again showed us what she can do. We were on a short break in Greece earlier this month and while we were away, Fairy Godmother had Emily’s room decorated. I knew she had planned this but she had also bought a new chest of draws for her and organised everything in her room. She went on to defrost the freezer, clean the fridge, buy in milk and food for when we got back and put new hand soap in the bathroom. Annoyingly there was an Air Traffic Control strike going on while we were away. The fact that she booked us a new flight to get home and picked us up from the airport (a four hour round trip) was of course greatly appreciated but it was the smaller stuff that showed just how thoughtful she is.

It's 'mother-in-law day' on Sunday 23rd October. I’m cooking Sunday dinner at our house for my Mother-in-law as a thank you, but it doesn’t seem enough now I’ve written all of this down. I may have to re-think that one...

What’s your Mother-in-law like? Do you like her help around the house, wish she’d leave you alone or would be shocked if she did some of the things mine does? Whether she’s amazing or annoying, we’d love to read your comments!