Warm feeling

So happy to read it - you let space for the relationship to grow!

Wonderful to read. Best wishes moving forward.

aw that's lovely Downtoearth and very touching.

Lovely posts here.I have been very lucky with both my DIL's.One DS and his wife have now separated and DIL and I were both very upset not just about his decision, but as we have always got on so well.We have remained very amicable.After one altercation with my son that involved me in part( to do with GC minding) she said " me and your mum are alright,leave her be"! She said to me afterwards " we are,arent we?!". Of course we are. I'm not daft, the reasons for the split were not to do with anyone running off with anyone else, so that may have made things easier to be amicable.I know things will probably change when she meets someone new, but to me and OH she will always be our darling DIL. Another friend has managed to remain friends with her DIL after divorce partly because of helping out with GC, but partly because they got on well. We both know our DIL's faults and attributes, but love them as people and mothers of our GC.

How lovely xxx

What I'd give for that...

That was nice of her, patience wins out yet again. 👍🙂

It is so lovely to read this. Thank you for sharing a special moment.

Thankyou all for your lovely replies.
Still feeling really happy
As a little family they are preparing to lose my sons much loved staffy over the next year,he is currently exhausted after 6 moths of chemo,and just diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease,and heart failure.
I will be here to love and support if and when they need me.
So sad that maybe we have bonded for this reason.

Lovely to read this, you must be very happy.

These things take time. You played your cards right and it worked. It’s all about TRUST. So happy you have reached a happy place. It may even open more doors for you.
USA Gundy

Well done for taking things at a pace she was comfortable with, you can't force good relationships. I am delighted that both of my 'almost' DiLs are lovely and I have a great relationship with them and my SiL - and that they all seem to have good relationships between them as well. Their children get on well too when they have the chance to be together, oldest is 16 and youngest 10 but we have a new one on the way next year, a first for our youngest DS, which is exciting.
I'm always very grateful for this as things can easily go adrift in families.

Well done - this must make you very happy.

I have no DILs but several SILs. I found it hard to get to know one of them who was a bit tongue-tied with us for a long time - he was only 17 then! I think one of the reasons he found it hard was that my OH was his GP - it must have felt a bit difficult to be bedding his GP's daughter!! . But when my OH died 3 years ago he came up to me and said: "I expect you need a hug". I thought that was very sweet.

I'm so glad for you. We've been in a similar situation. Our DiL was really difficult at first, very possessive of DS, didn't want to have anything to do with us and told her parents not to be friendly with us. But they did come to see us for tea... which went on until 11 pm and about 6 bottles of wine and we got on brilliantly. I think they must have told her that she wasn't behaving very sensibly, for after that she gradually unfroze and has become quite affectionate.

I and my DD & DS are comfortably verbal in expressing our love for each other and have a good, transparent relationship. They're now in their 30s with children. When they took a spouse, I often ended phone conversations with "love you, bye" or a heart on a text, not thinking anything about it. After a few months/year or so, both in-laws began to ending the same way. My DD/DS have both told me in many ways their spouses are more comfortable sharing with me than their own parents. I have a friend, in her 70s, whose parents never said, "I love you" to her. I always make it a point to end with a "love you." I think so often people don't get the love and affirmation from their family we all need and they just quit expecting it. I never asked or expected anything in return, just wanted them to know I cared.

Really pleased for you and thank you so much for sharing such lovely, positive news. I love my dil dearly, after a very shaky start, she is the best thing that ever happened to my son, just took me awhile to realise it, so grateful she was patient with me!!!

Love this 🩷💜💚

Thankyou all of you, I am not a saint and many times wondered wether she just didnt like me as she can be very outspoken,and wondered if there would ever come a time I would be accepted.
She comes willingly to me for a hug now when we meet, that is when I knew she was warming to me.

That’s lovely and you behaved so well with what must have felt difficult at times. It must be difficult to be so patient for so long, too many people take offence after a short time and exacerbate the situation, sometimes causing huge family rifts.

Very well done for waiting 5 years.

How lovely to read this. Absolutely heartwarming.

Thankyou for your replies, it really has warmed me all day.

Really pleased for you x

I'm really pleased for you.
I have SIL's one has been like my own son since I first met him,in fact he is called the name I was going to call DD's if they were boys. We text each other and if I phone DD and he answers we have a good chat.
The others it has been more gradual and I find one chatters to me when DH is not around.

How lovely downtoearth! My fuzzy feeling came when DDiL put XxX at the end of a text! Only took fifteen years! 😆

Oh that’s lovely,downtoearth. I sometimes think it is a bit harder for mothers of sons than it is for those of us with daughters.