In-Laws

“I did not raise you, so I cannot take any credit for who you are. I can only tell you how glad I am that you came into this family.”

“You could have spent this whole year quietly deciding whether I would do. Instead you asked about my work and remembered the answer the following month.”

“We were put in the same family by a wedding and nobody asked either of us. It could easily have stayed polite forever. It turned into something better.”

“I did not get to pick my family, and somehow it still picked well. You arrived with a wedding and stayed as something far closer than a guest.”

“I arrived as a complete stranger with nothing to offer but good intentions. You handed me a plate and never once made me feel like a guest again.”

“I spent a lot of years hoping he would find somebody genuinely kind. Then he brought you home and I stopped doing any of that worrying.”

“You have never once offered an opinion on how we run our house, and I noticed early. I know you have had them. You simply decided they were not yours to give.”

“You are the one who remembers the birthdays and makes sure somebody calls. He would tell you he had it in hand. We both know perfectly well who actually does.”

“I am marrying your son, and I have had years now to work out where he got it. The patience, the steadiness and the way he will not let a room stay awkward.”

“You did not have to make room for me at your table. You did it anyway, before I had done a single thing to earn it.”