Golden Life Vol. 1, No. 10
May 2019
Senior News for the Grand Strand & Surrounding Areas
Daughters-in-Law vs. Mothers-in-Law
e m a G e h t f o Rules S
By Barbara Graham
ince the publication of my book “Eye of My Heart,” I’ve been running around the country talking to groups of grandparents, and the single most radioactive topic wherever I go is – guess what? – tension between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. I hate it when cliches turn out to contain more truth than rumor, but so many grandparents on the paternal side feel like second-class citizens, compared with maternal grandparents. In many families, the mom’s mom and dad often have easier and more frequent access to the kids.
In other families, maternal grandmothers even act the part of what I call alpha nanas. One paternal grandmother who came to my talk in Las Vegas complained that her daughter-in-law’s mother expects the grandkids to be with her side of the family on all major holidays – and her daughter goes along with it. On the other hand, daughters-in-law don’t necessarily have it any easier. There are mothers-in-law who, while not clinically deaf, routinely ignore their daughters-in-law’s perfectly reasonable requests. “Tomorrow is not a good day to visit,” one daughter-in-law
said to her husband’s mother, but the grandmother turned a deaf ear and showed up anyway – and not for the first time.
As a mother-in-law – and one who has worked hard to earn the trust of my daughter-in-law – I’ve come up with 12 rules to help both
to the Animals! E
When Myrtle Beach resident Pat McKinney talks, animals listen! She has quite the knack for conversing with almost any animal - birds, squirrels, deer, swans, geese, dogs or ducks.
xperts tell us that an important key to a lasting relationship is good communication. Jim and Pat McKinney have been happily married for 45 years. Their relationship goes back even longer, and Pat is one with a special talent for communication. But it’s not always Jim she’s communicating with … often,
groups get along. And the key to them all, for both sides? R-E-S-P-E-C-T. See IN-LAWS, page 2
If we could talk to the animals, learn their languages Think of all the things we could discuss. If we could walk with the animals, talk with the animals, Grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals, And they could and talk to us. — Talk to the Animals “Dr. Dolittle” (1967)
By David Dibb
it’s the animals. When she talks to blue jays, squirrels, deer, swans, geese, ducks, and even wart hogs, they approach her to listen to what she has to say or to follow her around. She taught their Golden Retriever to help bring in the groceries from the car, and has trained many wild animals to eat out of her hand.
Jim and Pat were raised in the same neighborhood in Miami, FL, and played in the same neighborhood park. His grandmother taught at Pat’s elementary school, and her mom was Girl Scout leader to some of the girls in Jim’s family, and both families were See ANIMAL TALK, page 4