Dear Reader,

I’m doing something a little different today and sharing a letter I got a couple of weeks ago. It’s an emotional testament to the power of being open to learning and growing. I’m so grateful to Rebecca, who not only shared her experience with me but also gave me permission to share it with you. Here is her story (lightly edited for clarity):

“I’ve been a grandparent for almost 9 years. Our daughter became an instant step-parent when she married our precious son-in-law, who already had a 3-year-old.

Together they had two more and being a grandparent to them has been so easy. My daughter and I are very close, always have been, and she runs her household much like I ran mine while raising her.

Now, when our son got married and started having children, it was completely different and in a lot of ways opposite. I seemed to have constantly made mistakes, crossed boundaries that I didn’t know existed and wasn’t appreciated, and even resented at times, for the same things that our daughter appreciated. I was so confused. My daughter-in-law grew up in an environment that was completely different than the one we raised our children in, so our ideas and expectations could not have been more opposite.

After failed attempts and walls beginning to go up, I recognized that we were speaking different languages and something had to change. It was somewhere about the time their second son came that I figured out that she was the key to having a relationship with them, but I wasn’t quite sure how to be who she wanted me to be.

However, just coming to that realization made things better between us, but things were still forced and unnatural. They now have 4 beautiful, perfect little boys, under the age of 6, all born at home with a midwife, homeschooling has begun and she feeds them all whole and organic foods and there are no screens. She is the strongest, hardest working mama that I know. She and my son are raising an army of highly intelligent, self-motivated, hard-working, problem-solving, well-rounded young men. Yes, I’m a little biased! She is 10 times the mother I ever was.

A few months ago, I started seeing a few of your reels on Instagram. They were most insightful. I even started using some of the practical suggestions, attempting to work on my relationship with my daughter-in-law. One evening, I shared with her a few of your reels and asked her to forgive me for blundering things so badly in the beginning and for so graciously allowing me the space I needed to grow as a grandparent and mother-in-law.

Well, THAT sealed the deal! I can’t believe how different she is with me just since that conversation! She’s trusting me and even becoming comfortable around me and wanting to come around more. It’s been wonderful and the key to unlocking my DIL’s heart. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of New Grandparent Essentials. I have so much to learn. I am eternally grateful for your insight, DeeDee. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Forever grateful,
Rebecca S.

If you’ve ever wondered if things can change in a difficult relationship, I hope Rebecca’s letter gives you the encouragement you need. While she found the insights I shared valuable, the most important thing was her willingness to learn and grow. She just found More Than Grand at the right time.

I’m so grateful to be able to help families like Rebecca’s—and yours.

Warm regards,
DeeDee

P.S. Stories like Rebecca’s keep me going. If you’ve found value in what you’ve learned from me, I’d love to hear about it.

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DeeDee Moore | Founder, More Than Grand LLC | morethangrand.com

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