Thankfully my late MIL lived on the east coast, so we didn't see her often. When we did I was a little afraid of her because she seemed like such a hard woman and said terrible things about friends and family. I always wondered what she said about me. After she passed her daughter, who is absolutely wonderful, told me how often her mother bragged on me and talked so fondly of me. Huh!!! Wish she had passed some of that along to me because I always wanted to know her better but never felt welcome to do that. Later when I heard of her upbringing by a very hard, angry mother, very young marriage (15) to get away from her own mother, raising of her brothers after her parents passed away and death of her husband at 40 yo and so on I could see how she got to where she was. Her story was incredible, and I would have loved to hear it and share her pain with her. I think we could have been good friends give the chance.