Tuesday, May 08, 2007

French Women Part III

Gem's Guide to French Women Continued...

3. Older French women are very similar to their younger counterparts. If you're younger, you probably won't be spending much time with them--or so you think! In reality, French mothers are Latin mothers, big on family time and invested in their children (even if the "child" is 20, 30, or 40).

Advice: Again, patience is a virtue! Compliment their food, admire their houses, and they will love you. Oh yeah--and laugh at their jokes.

What would any guide be without personal anecdotes of failure? I have not always been able to follow my own advice.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you already know that Belle-maman is a really great mother-in-law. I don't know if I got lucky or if I just managed to follow all of my own advice. The only time I failed involved her teaching me table manners. She told me not to cut my lettuce with a knife, and I got upset. Who was she to be teaching me etiquette? I responded curtly, she became defensive, and I realized that she was just acting like a mother. She would have told Jube or le Pacha the same thing she told me.


Don't Tune Out Yet! Tomorrow the Final Installment of this Incredible Saga!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gneralizations.
Plus, everyone likes people to compliment their food. You do too.

Gem said...

True! Another argument for the "French women are people too" camp!

Remember, this /is/ GEM's guide, so it's all my opinion.

fraise said...

Nice series you've written! I had a great not-quite-mother-in-law too, she's adorable. We're actually still in touch even though I've not seen the ex in three years!