What is your spouse or significant other’s relationship with your family like?

When my sisters were here, Becca said that Mike is “very hands-off.” I’d say that’s pretty accurate.  He loves my family and my family loves him and when we’re all together it’s wonderful. If my siblings ask Mike for his input, he’ll share it but otherwise he just accepts them and supports them as they are. I think there is a high level of trust between my family and Mike and they very much value his opinion. Mike loves them too. When I asked Mike his thoughts on this question he said their relationship is “strong but unspoken.”

Compare and contrast your family with your in-laws.

I often say that my family and Mike’s family couldn’t be more different.  My family is loud and crazy, Mike’s is quiet and reserved.  Mike’s family is very interconnected and relies on each other to make decisions while in my family everyone kind of does their own thing and reports back their decision. Conversation with Mike’s family is very civilized and organized and with my family it’s very lively and bouncing all over the place.

This anecdote perfectly illustrates the difference between our families: I once called Mike crying about a fight I had with my parents and he said “can I call you back? we’re playing Scrabble.” Haha.

But the thing our families have in common is the most significant: family is very very important to all of us. Our families are both warm and loving.  We may show our love for each other in different ways but the love runs deep in both families.