circle of trust

my mom, being the planner that she is, likes to coordinate family get-togethers.  i am not just talking about immediate family though.  after only a few months of dating my husband, she asked if she could meet his parents.  my husband said sure, after we'd be dating a year.  and in true form, right after our one-year anniversary, she asked to set it up, and we (somewhat hesitantly) agreed.

soon afterward, there was a meeting arranged for our families, this time with our sisters involved.  it wasn't long before our parents started alternating when to take the other set out, and as my husband and i moved forward with our relationship, so did our families in theirs.

these days, my parents and his parents (and his grandmother) will plan dinners or outings together, sometimes without us.  they'll exchange presents for holidays and birthdays, call and e-mail each other.  in fact, one time my husband and i were over his parents when my mom's number popped up on the caller ID.  the funny thing was that she didn't even know we were there at the time.  and recently, we met my family for lunch, not knowing that my husband's grandmother would be there, but pleasantly surprised that she was.

i know this is not really typical for in-law families to be as close as we are, just based on hearing the stories my friends and coworkers tell me about.  they feel lucky if they even get along with their in-laws, let alone their in-laws' families.

so our families have become a solid unit, a tight-knit family.  if something happens to my sister, my SIL will know, and vice versa.  if something happens to one of my parents, my in-laws will be there.  and vice versa.

i remember when my husband and i had reached the one-year mark, and our reluctance to have our parents meet.  it wasn't that we weren't committed or that we didn't see a future.  it was alittle bit of fear, alittle bit of uncertainty.  alittle bit of worry if things didn't turn out like we hoped.  but my mom felt none of that.  she wasn't fearful or uncertain, and the only anxiety she had was probably about the family i would one day be marrying into, which is why she did what she did.

sometimes i don't give my mom enough credit.  but i have her to thank for this, because this bond, this closeness we have would not be present today without her and that first meeting years ago.