My Mama and My Mom-in-Law! 

May brings a beautiful tribute to mothers and I’m thankful that I had one of the best. 

I was also fortunate to have an exceptional mother-in-law. And somewhere along the way, these mothers became friends, even though they barely knew each other before my wedding. 

While my “brand-new” husband, Carl, was overseas, I attended and worked at Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, where I finished my degree. On weekends I would visit my parents, often spending one night with my in-laws, who lived in the same town and treated me like their own daughter. 

As I look back on that time, I’m so proud of my mother, who never showed an ounce of jealousy when I split my weekend visits between both families. Not once did Mama ever fuss or say, “Well, you could spend a little more time at home.” 

In fact, there were times when I needed to spend a few weeks at school because of my job so Mama would often visit Etta Mae, Carl’s mom, not only to get better acquainted but to see how she was feeling. 

You see, Etta had severe emphysema from growing up in a coal-mining town and was in and out of the hospital a lot. Mama knew that Etta would never let Carl, her only child, know when she was ill, so my mother would report such news to me — our little secret. If it was serious, I would notify Carl and assure him that I would be checking on his mom and keep him informed. That definitely helped Carl. 

It was those little visits my mother made to Etta that initiated a sweet friendship between them. Two mothers’ hearts sharing love for their “newly-wed” kids who were separated by an ocean. They even devised a little fun project by collecting a full set of Silver Leaf glasses from laundry detergent as an extra wedding gift for Carl and me. 

My lifelong desire has always been to be a mother. I’m so thankful that God not only fulfilled that longing with my beautiful children, but gave me two wonderful, Christian role models. My loving Mama and Mom-in-law. 

Happy Mother’s Day!