When You Have No In-Laws When You Marry...

 My father's parents were born in 1885 and 1886.

That's a long time ago.

My father was born in 1924. By the time my mom met my dad in the mid-1950s, my dad's parents had both passed away. As I grew up I wondered what that was like for my mom. She had no in-laws...she never met them. She didn't have to worry about her husband's mother not accepting her or judging her. She just married my dad and didn't have to deal with any of that.

Last week, my wife and I attended a wedding reception where the groom's parent could not attend. Unfortunately, they were both gone...gone too soon.

Because of my situation, I wondered what it was like to not have in-laws. I wonder if anyone else has thought about what that would be like.

Of course, not knowing or meeting your spouse's parents has a lot of drawbacks. You wouldn't be able to ask then things only the parents would know, things like how the spouse was as a baby, why they chose the name they did. And, no babysitters for the grandparents. Parents are a world of knowledge that only they would know and without them, the married couple's life is missing something wonderful.

My cousin's son got married. It's too bad his spouse never got to meet Kris and Zach, two of the most amazing people I've ever known. It's a shame. I guess that meeting will take place later...hopefully, much later.