"Little mother very bad!"

My mother-in-law is here for the week. The dread of the mother-in-law is universal, apparently, because when I mention this to Turks - they often respond with an, "oooh" - and not an "oooh" like ooh-that's great, nor ooh-that's-interesting, but ooh-I-feel-your-pain.

My father-in-law loves to say to me, "Little mother very bad!" And then he laughs a hearty laugh.

I don't really have anything to compare my mother-in-law to in Turkey. The closest I can compare her too is my own mother and the things she does for my sister-in-laws. My mom is very involved in their lives. There in lies the catch-22 of a mother-in-law I suppose.


My mother-in-law I don't think is typical. Maybe it has to do with her height. She is very very short and cute. She cooks and cares for the boys. She listens to them. Occasionally she is quite dramatic about an ailment she is feeling, and they will take over and serve her. For the most part she is unwavering at home. She loves to gossip - but mostly just with her sister and yenge. And she loves to brag about benim gelin - my bride.

I gave her a spare set of keys with a heart shaped key chain attached. Anne didn't want the keys (she's afraid to leave the home alone), but she liked the key chain. When Yenge called this evening she bragged about how I gave her a heart shaped key chain.

If only we were all that easy to please.