Acknowledge her quiet strength. Just as the moon watches over the earth without a sound, she is a constant, calming presence in the family. You can thank her for being the person who listens without judgment and shares a simple, profound wisdom.
Use the relaxed atmosphere of the evening to ask about her life before she became a mother or a mother-in-law. Understanding her personal history can explain her daytime defensiveness. mother in law who opens up when the moon rises
She may have married young, deferred her own dreams, and spent decades smoothing over her husband’s moods, her children’s tantrums, and her in-laws’ expectations. Somewhere along the way, she forgot she was allowed to have needs of her own. Acknowledge her quiet strength
"1968," she said, turning to look at me. In the moonlight, the severe lines of her face seemed to soften. The shadows hid the judgment in her eyes and revealed something else—sadness, perhaps, or nostalgia. "My father had a fishing boat. We’d go out at night when the water was like glass. He told me the moon was a silver coin that the ocean tried to swallow." Use the relaxed atmosphere of the evening to