To my 3 kids

In the course of the conversation during the Raya's meet, we teased LP when we found out that she bought the house next door. We wanted to know if it is in anticipation of an addition to the family (we were referring to a daughter-in-law and not a new baby! Don't think any of us are still in that category!)
It brought me to think about the next phase of the family.The arrival of an in law not that it is any time soon but the reality is there.How will she or he take to the family and what precautions do we need to be aware of to welcome him or her. Gosh it sound like some physics experiment but actually it is because my command of English is not good enough to make it sounds right.
Our family is a very closely knitted one. As a parent, one can be proud to see the kids being so close to their siblings loving caring teasing hugging and missing each other sincerely in time of absence.To date, they are still sharing most of their thoughts and problems with us. But how does the new addition take to these?
As parents, we have to learnt to let go and let the union be one. At a church wedding a pastor once said it is a union of a man and a woman and the couple need to leave the parents. I wasn't sure what he meant by 'leave' but I have my own interpretation. To 'leave ' is to mean that the parents must respect and understand that the couple need to live their own life with minimum interference. They have the right to make their own decisions. We need to take a step back. But 'leave' doesn't mean to be detached from them. We still have a role to play when advice is asked for.Words of caution could be given when needed.In other words stay at a distance.SF mentioned of a divorce when the husband is too attached to the mother and it didn't go down well with the wife. On the tone, I guess I need to caution against too much hugging and kissing!As a parent, if they ever need to choose, I would rather they choose their spouse than me. That is why I always felt that the most important thing in the choice of a life partner is that there is a strong love between them and not skin colour, religion or physical beauty.
I need to declare that these are my personal thoughts and reflections. I stand corrected in future but until such time, the kids are welcomed to remind me of this post. Love from mummy.