Finding a Kindred Soul in My Mother-in-law

The day I met my future mother-in-law I knew it would be a good relationship. I had been seeing her son for about a year or two. We met at the trolley museum off Highway 12 when I came up with friends from the train club. We all loved volunteering there: running streetcars, maintaining the track, and working on rebuilding cars in the shop. He lived on the museum site as a sort-of caretaker and worked in Rio Vista during the week as a welder. Later, he took a job closer to where I lived and moved to Pleasant Hill.

I do not remember the exact circumstances that led us to visit his parents at their home. His mother welcomed me warmly. She gave me a tour of the house and when I saw a bookcase in the hall, I knew I had found a kindred soul. Books can reveal a bit of one’s personality. She was an avid reader of fiction. Many of the books on her shelf were also on my shelves. She had a whole collection of Louis L’Amour books, and he was one of my favorite authors then. She also had the Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman. I just knew we would have a lot in common.

After we married, we would share books we liked, and when we found a new author to read, we would let the other know. I introduced her to Tony Hillerman, who wrote the Navajo police series, and she introduced me to Lilian Jackson Brown, who wrote the Miss Murphy mysteries.

Thelma was the kindest, loving, and honest person I have ever met. She saw the best in everyone and would give to anyone who needed something. I was very fortunate to have her in my life. 

#52Ancestors-Week 50: Chosen Family

This is my seventh year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. 

I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

Copyright © 2024 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.