My mother-in-laws birthday falls on the 1st of January. So, as is tradition, we went to visit her, and all of a sudden, she turned to me and asked,
Elizabeth, are you expecting?
Ive always had a wonderful relationship with my mother-in-law, Margaret. My husband and I have been married for seventeen years, blessed with two sons. Then, just before Christmas last year, I discovered I was pregnant for a third time. Id been planning to share the news with Margaret on her birthday, the first of January, but nerves kept gnawing at me.
After all, the four of us squeezed into our little two-bedroom flat, barely enough space as it is And there I was, already thirty-eight, which is certainly not young for another pregnancy. Honestly, I was terrified Margaret might find fault or judge.
But when her birthday finally came, I knew I couldnt keep it under wraps any longer.
We arrived at her house and, as usual, I was hardly through the door before she called me into the kitchen to give her a hand. Margaret has a keen mind; she took one look at me and somehow knew the truth without a word spoken.
It caught me completely off guard. I barely had time to process her gentle smile before she reached for my hands, her eyes bright with excitement. She confessed how desperately shed longed for a granddaughter all these years.
With Margarets blessing, I carried our daughter to full term and gave birth that summer. Once again, my mother-in-law became our guardian angelendlessly patient, helping with the little one and offering advice and comfort with every challenge. I came to cherish Margaret as my own mother; her kindness was a gift I never took for granted.
When winter returned and New Years Day drew near, we found ourselves once again at Margarets housethis time, carrying a little princess in our arms. Margaret had taken up baking in earnest, so we decided the perfect gift would be a proper oven.
As the evening drew to a close and we gathered our things to head home, Margaret called for our attention. She wanted to make an announcement.
With quiet emotion, Margaret thanked us for bringing a granddaughter into her life. She then revealed shed decided to move in with us, but insisted we take her two-bedroom flat as our own. I was speechless. Once again, I realised just how fortunate I was to have a mother-in-law as good-hearted and wise as Margareta true friend, something precious and rare.
To this day, we all live together in harmony and happiness. I look up to my mother-in-law and hope, with all my heart, to one day possess even a fraction of her wisdom.
