In-Laws

I have the best in-laws in the world! Jenn's family has gone out of their way to make me feel accepted. They call almost once a week, and I sometimes spend more time talking to her dad on the phone than she will. I feel so lucky to have them in our family.

My sister-in-law I haven't figured out yet. I really like my brother's wife, Kate, and she has always been pleasant with us. But it doesn't seem as though she likes to be around us. I'm not sure whether she just feels uncomfortable, or if she has a hard time showing that she cares, or what the issue is. For Christmas in 2001, we all went to my grandparent's on my dad's side for a family get together. She brought along one of her friends from Chicago and spent very little time trying to get to know our family. She spent most of her time with her friend, going through catalogs. It was really strange. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to get to know my grandparents. They are the most loving couple I know. My grandparents have weathered a lot of different situations in our family, from the very early pregnancy of one of my cousins, to the marriages and divorces of uncles, and so on. They would certainly be very accepting of Kate. But for some reason it feels like she is always holding back when she is around us. A couple of weekends ago, she and Travis came down to visit with their new baby Nadia. They were down for the 4th of July weekend, and had planned to visit with all of us. They spent several days with her mom, a day with her cousin Rachel, and a day at our place. They never went to my parent's house. My mom was really hurt that they didn't take them time to stop by. She and my father had put a lot of effort into getting the nursery ready, and my mom has been anxiously waiting for a grandchild ever since Travis and I left the house. I don't know if my brother didn't see the hurt, or if he just ignored it because he wasn't willing to tell Kate what he wanted to do.

I don't feel that it is my place to bring this up either. I feel like, if I say anything to Travis, it will either create a fight between he and I, or it will create a fight between Travis and Kate. I don't want either of those things. I just want to know where Kate stands as far as how she feels about us. If she truly doesn't care to be around us, I'd be disappointed, but at least I would know how she felt. But if she does like us, I would want to know why she feels the need to hold back. We really aren't scary people. We want her to know that she is a part of the family, and that we will love her without any reservations.