Dr. Laura:

I used to get very upset when my mother-in-law criticized my parenting skills.  You name it, and I did it the wrong way. 

It wasn’t until my husband’s brothers married that I realized she felt the same way toward all three daughters-in-law.  It wasn’t a personal attack against ME, but it still hurt, just the same.

After 24 years, it has gotten a bit easier.  I believe she loved her sons so much that she looked at all of us as a threat to her.  A few years ago, I started making a mental list of “what not to do to my adult kids.”  Number one on the list was not to make their spouses miserable.  I will be a good mother-in-law, and my husband swears he’ll make sure I am too!  I want to see them and my grandkids and not have them dread seeing me!

Kara