We all hear the horror stories of mother in laws. Do you have one of those horrible mother in laws, or are you one of the lucky ones who has a wonderful mother in law?

Let's share our mother in law stories here.

I am one of the lucky ones, my mom in law is very good. She lives in a different state, so our acquaintance had begun by email - we would write back and forth, talking about wedding arrangements. I realized back then that she was a nice and special lady, and i was right.

My mother in law is okay I suppose. We do get on well, but them she does live in another country, so that may be why!!!

Maybe that is my problem. My mother in law lives in the same town as I do.

When she found out the my sons girlfriend was pregnant, she sent them a congratulations card. Then inside she wrote my son a letter saying how disappointed in him that she is. It was horrible! Luckily she told my husband that she wrote him this letter, so we took it out before giving him the card. If he knew that she said these terrible things, my son would never want her around the baby.

My mother-in-law and I joke about what a bad word "mother-in-law" has become. We've never had any kind of issues. As a matter of fact, when my husband and I had a very unusual, lengthy and ugly arguement around a year ago, it was my mother-in-law who coached me through it and kept me strong. She's amazing. This woman raised 3 boys on her own after her husband died when they were all teenagers, held 3 jobs at a time, cooked and cleaned and never slept. She truly is my role model.

This is a very encouraging thread and posts here! People should work harder I guess to achieve the best relationships with their mothers-in-law. It is just after trying your very best when youll know what to do next if all else fails.

I think that just the thought of the stereotyped 'mother in law' keeps us from doing just that, Bammer. We (sometimes unknowingly) react stereotypically before we have even really given the situation a chance.

I know one lady who said, "The moment my son was born, I began to hate his future wife, because she would take him away from me!" Now, you'd think she would make a horrible mother in law, but now that her son is married, they actually live all together, and she helps to take care of the grandson. They get along great!

Wow Lizzy, that is a powerful statement and I am glad that the outcome ended up positive.

I have already told my daughter in law to be if I start turning into the Monster in law, she had better tell me.

I love my Mother in Law... She does live 7,000 miles away and does not speak English, so maybe that helps! Seriously, she is a very sweet lady who raised 13 kids who all adore her. I have never seen her without a smile on her face.