how to bond with my mother in law?
To put it simply I come from a black and brown family. We are close but also are very dysfunctional. I grew up very detached from both of my parents, they were not great/good parents. My husband has had the opposite. He’s an only child, very close with his mother and a deep respect for his parents. His mom is a lovely woman although some of the things she says sometimes make me question if i can trust her. When my husband and I met she was very MAGA but has dialed back since Rumps second term. She’s very Christian, never done drugs and doesn’t drink and she’s very conservative and traditional. she’s always wanted a daughter and says this is her opportunity for “the daughter [she] has never had.” lately i think she feels i’ve been very distant towards her, i love her and want to call and talk to her but that ends of being a 10-20+ minute phone call. I work 20+ hours a week on top of full time college courses. I just don’t know what to do to bring myself closer to her? Am i being too closed? Sorry if this isn’t a lot of detail. I do care about her. I do love her, but I just can’t bring myself to feel close to her like I know she wants to. I’m not even close with my own mother. It feels at times like I can’t truly be myself with her either because I feel like she would judge the things i say or tell her from my past.
Posted Nov 14, 2025, 1:47 PM UTC