My mother-in-law

I am very thankful to have the in-laws that I do, and I'm especially thankful for my mother-in-law. She is a cheerful, kind and calm-spirited woman. Like my own mother, she raised a large and happy family. Unlike many Congolese women she had all of her 9 children with the same man.
I have the privilege of being married to her precious firstborn son, which is a privilege indeed. Still, she has never made me feel like I don't deserve him, or might somehow fail in the wife department.

Here in Africa, family pressures and expectations can run high and make many couples miserable, but I can happily say that my parents-in-law have never voiced doubts over my abilities to care for their son, or be a good wife to him. And when I say this I don't just mean no negative comments to me; they have never said anything about my shortcomings (of which there are many) to my husband either!

They don't tell me how to do things and they don't put the pressure on. We talk with them often but they ask little of us. This may sound like a given, but many a story from various cultures had led me to believe I might be in for a serious challenge in this area and I had a somewhat fearful anticipation of what my African parents might be like after our marriage.

I am thankful to recount that unlike many others, I am blessed when it comes to my mother in law.