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Breadcrumb
1.
Family Life
Dealing With In-Laws
Deciding What To Call Your In-Laws
Deciding What to Call Your In-Laws
Deciding how to address your in-laws can be tricky. Read these
suggestions for help.
In this article, you will find:
* Page 1
* Page 2
Page 1
Deciding What to Call Your In-Laws
Follow these suggestions for naming your parents-in-law.
1. Come right out and ask your mother-in-law and father-in-law what
they want to be called. I know, I'm suggesting something radical
here, like eating less if you want to lose weight or not baking in
the sun if you don't want skin cancer.
Family Matters
People in second marriages often feel more comfortable calling
their parents-in-law by their first names rather than as "Mom" or
"Dad."
Talking about the name issue right up front allows everyone to air
their feelings and knocks stress down to manageable levels. But
talking about something that's as loaded as a frat boy on Saturday
night is easier said than done. Hey, I've been there and, I'm
ashamed to say, not done that. So
2. Follow the lead of the rest of the family. Obviously, this is only
going to work if there's another daughter-in-law or son-in-law and
the issue of names has already been settled to everyone's
satisfaction. With the name game, one size does not fit all, so you
have to be mighty careful you don't get sucked into calling your
parents-in-law something that doesn't fit in your comfort zone.
If you're the first to get married, there's no lead to follow. As
the head weenie at the roast, you have to blaze new ground. In that
case, see suggestion #1.
3. Use their first names. My sister has a delightful mother-in-law, a
lively and intelligent woman whose company I greatly enjoy. Her
first name is Mera, and that's what my sister calls her. It works
for them.
4. Invent a name. Sometimes you're just not comfortable using your
parent-in-law's first name, even if that's what they have indicated
they want you to call them. In this case, you might want to
consider inventing a name for your parent-in-law. Of course, the
name must be mutually agreeable to all parties.
For example, my mother's first name is Erna. For some reason that I
can no longer remember (if there ever was a reason in the first
place), my husband and several other sons-in-law call my mother
"Oin," a mangled variation of Erna. She appears to like it because
it's special and sets her apart from all the other Ernas in the
world. All two of them.
We've done the same thing for my father-in-law. His name is Louis,
but everyone calls him by his middle name, Nick, which he prefers.
I don't call him by either name. Instead, we made up the name Nas,
the first part of a juicy Greek curse he uses to amuse us. The
first few words of this useful imprecation are "Nas a fahn a..."
(Here's the entire curse in translation, in case you ever need it:
"May the red goats eat out your stomach lining and the white mice,
too.") So my father-in-law has become Old Nas; my husband, Young
Nas. Again, he likes it because it's as special as he is.
Next: Page 2
* The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dealing with In-Laws The Complete
Idiot's Guide to Dealing with In-Laws
Here are tips and tricks for getting along with your in-laws.
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