In-law interaction question

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2004
In-law interaction question
2
Thu, 09-28-2006 - 5:26pm

Hi,
My spouse (E-) and I live in my in-laws house (kind of like caretakers). They only are home a couple of weekends a year.

We have been thinking about getting a dog, so we e-mailed them asking if it would be OK. My MIL said you will have to talk to my FIL.

Is it OK if I call him, or should I leave it to E-? I do have some control issues and I KNOW that E- will not plead out case as well as I would. (They had a dog 6-7 years ago that was a terror, E- did not "caretake" him well and my MIL gave him away. This was before my time.)

E- is not do home for a few hours, so should I call them or wait for him? I so do not want to wait, or let him be the one to call. :) I am trying to be rational, so what is your opinion?

Background: My In-laws are wonderful people, very laid back (almost hippie like). I do get along with my MIL better. My FIL is quite the talker with an odd sense of humor that I do not always get. He is extremely smart, and likes to tease. On the phone with him I have the tendency to stick a small foot in my mouth, but just a small foot.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 09-28-2006 - 9:15pm

"we e-mailed them asking if it would be OK. My MIL said you will have to talk to my FIL."

So you drafted the e-mail together? If so, then you two should read the answer together, and then discuss what step to take next.

Or, by "we," did you really mean, "me?"

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2004
Fri, 09-29-2006 - 7:05am

I meant "we".

I could not wait. I called and he said he wanted to think about it. But it went well, and I listened to his objections and rebutted what I could. He does not want us to get a mastiff, so I said American Bulldog. He was going to look into the breed and get back to "us" by email.

I had a friend tell me because it was not going to be the first time I called them that it was OK to call him then. I only stuttered a little bit. :)

Jessa