Hopefully you don't call her Monster-in-Law like JLo's character did! The above question might be an odd question but people's answers to this question has always fascinated me. I've observed women and men call their mother-in-laws by their first name, by their last name (i.e. Mrs. Last Name) and just plain ol' Mom.
Out of those three monikers, plain ol' Mom is the
most intimate. In my mind, my Mom is my mom. So I can't picture calling another woman Mom. However, I know in many cultures, calling one's mother-in-law "Mom" is tradition and to not address your MIL as Mom is a serious insult to the woman who birthed your partner. I often wonder how the 'real' mothers feel when they hear their children call another mom, Mom. Are they hurt? Is it OK because their children-in-law in turn call them Mom too?
So what about calling your MIL by her first name? I call the BF's mom by her first name as calling her "Mrs." seems way too formal. My own mother would probably express her disappointment if she heard me call the BF's mom by her first name since in our culture, calling an elder by their first name is a serious no-no. However, the BF's mom is fine with me calling her by her first name and if/when the BF get married, I'll likely keep calling her by her name.
Finally, the "Mrs. Lastname" option. This seems awfully formal to me. It seems to infer a distant relationship. With that being said, there is a certain respect that goes with addressing someone by their last name. If you called your MIL "Mrs." before marraige and then switched, what did you switch to and how long did it take you to switch?
See? I told you this topic fascinates me!
What do you call your MIL? Was this something you and the finance discussed before getting hitched?
*This question can also be "What do you call your FIL?" but for simplicity's sake, I'll stick to discussing MILs.
