January 13 | 😜 Are you marrying your spouse or their fam?!

January 13, 2023

tips & tricks for growth

not so crazy for the future in-laws

When you marry the love of your life, they bring so many different things to the table for the two of you to share. Their personality, adoration for you, commitment, maybe some furniture or experience with things you don’t know how to do. And don’t get me wrong—this sounds lovely (and it is…) until one of the things they bring to the table are in-laws.

If you’re honest, it’s possible you aren’t crazy about your future in-laws, to put it politely. In fact, you’ve decided what you want to bring to the table in your relationship is an extra table😡… one that doesn’t always have seats for the future in-laws… but that’s not really the solution. (And don’t assume that your fiancé doesn’t have any issues with YOUR parents.)

👉 It’s okay to not be fond of your fiancé’s parents, but you also have to be okay with them being a part of your lives in some capacity. You can’t marry your fiancé without also understanding you are essentially marrying into their family. So let’s put together a game plan so when the visits begin, you won’t be nervous to pull up a chair to the table!

🎯PREP YOUR GAME PLAN

get back to the basics of friendship through conversation

Long before our homes had living rooms and dens; even before they had sitting rooms or drawing rooms, most houses had a room called a parlor. A parlor (from the French verb parlé, “to speak”) would contain artwork, family heirlooms, knick-knacks, and a few comfy chairs. That’s it.

The purpose of the parlor was to have a room set apart for simple chitchat. Sliding doors even allowed the parlor to be cut off from the rest of the house for intimate, private conversations.

🤯 The point here is pretty obvious. We used to think conversations were so vital that we had a room in our home for them. We used to value and prioritize conversations so highly that we built a particular room in our homes which was basically named “to speak.”

Times have clearly changed…

📱There’s just something about face-to-face conversation that doesn’t translate into ones and zeros on our smartphones. The mediums we use to communicate dictate how we communicate. We need to revisit the lost art of conversation.

🗣GET BACK TO THE BASICS OF CONVOS

let’s get REALatable

It’s time to take things a step further & get a little intimate with a Q & A. What do you say?😉 Learn a little bit about the faces behind all of this relationship gold. This week we’re chatting with Margo Mathis, wife to her husband of 3 years, Jebediah, new mom to a baby girl, dog momma, and the Email Specialist here at First Things First. Let’s get REALatable💛 & learn a little bit about her:

Q: What is your favorite season?

A: 🍂 Not to sound cliche, but definitely fall! I’m very hot-natured, so I enjoy the fall weather & clothing best. Not to mention… the cozy vibes, leaves changing, pumpkin-flavored everything!

Q: When you cut a sandwich in half, do you do it in squares or triangles?

A: 😂 Squares is my instinctual go-to. But, I do like the look of the triangles.

Q: How many languages do you speak?

A: 🗣 Just English. I took 4yrs of Spanish in school & have spent many summers in Greece visiting my relatives but I sadly only know a few phrases from each language.