Dear Dr. Laura,

I was one of the fortunate ones who had a mother-in-law that I adored. We did many things together: shopping, going to lunch, movies, musicals...girl-bonding kinds of things. It was Christmas, 1999 that I printed out this poem, framed it and gave it to her as a gift. She hung it on the wall of her apartment and, when it came time to move her to assisted living, she hung it on the wall in her room. Here is what it said:

You are the Mother I received
the day I wed your son.
And I just want to thank you, Mom,
for the things that you have done.

You have given me a gracious man
with whom I share my life.
You are his lovely Mother
and I his lucky wife.

You used to pat his little head
and now I hold his hand.
You raised in love a little boy
then gave to me a man.

My mother-in-law is no longer with us and I miss her so much I can't even describe it. But we sure made our time together count for a lot and she knew I loved her. She was the mother I had always wanted but never had. I thank God that I knew her for the brief time I did. Thank you for all you do, Dr. Laura, and I know you will be a fabulous mother-in-law too.

Judie