The "other" woman in my husband's life and I thank God for it!

Yes, you read that right! The "other" woman in my husband's life and I thank God for her existence! The concept of the other, in our country is quite dreaded or subjected to hatred. But here the other woman who crowns my husband's life is someone for whom I have anything but hatred. She is someone who inspires me, teaches me to love and only love people around me, she by her attributes deviates  from a relationship that is so controversial in our country, by bringing in a great sense of joy and happiness. The other woman whom I am referring here is my husband's mother, my mother in law (the relation who is expected to be anything but good) or Amma as we all lovingly address her.  Post marriage, few of my friends and acquaintances had instilled in me, a belief that when you enter your husband's or in laws' house, you are already a stranger primarily due to biological reasons moreso when you are from a culture that isn't theirs! So as a bride I was quite apprehensive if not happy but Amma was the one who came to my rescue each time. Till date the ritual goes unbroken; sometimes I feel I am better comprehended by her than my own mother or my husband.
This write up as I pen down now, may not go down well with many, who by virtue of either their  experience or by assumptions, may thwart my ideas and label me as too idealistic. But there can't be anything more realistic than this post that I write this afternoon.
Amma digresses from any negative, stereotypical notions that are associated with a "mother in law", she rather defines sobriety on her demeanor, immense modernity in her thoughts and extreme warmth in her behavior. She exudes love and care.
The discussions that we both have, always end up opening new rays of hope for me, making me believe in goodness again. It might sound funny or strange to some when I say, Amma does not understand the meaning of jealousy! She is perhaps few of those mortals who believes that humans can't be evil, for they are the victims of circumstances; which I keep reiterating to her that all humans may or may not have some great intentions and that, she needs to be on her guard. But in vain! For Amma is herself, who in these 60 years of her life, has always believed and patronized human nature.

Being the first born in the family makes me quite a favorite with my parents, wherein I have the liberty and space to share every bit of my life (which I have done) with them. But now, I feel Amma has gradually yet quite deftly taken up a major chunk of my mother's share in acting as my guide, friend, someone who is a one stop solution for me. Amma acts as the referee, whose final warning (read love-laced chidings) make it essential that my husband and I stop the argument. And let me tell you something here, she never has a biased approach, a rarity that's quite amiss these days.
My mother in law was perhaps the most excited individual besides my husband, when we stepped out for our honeymoon!
There are notions or ideas that most of us attach to the relationship between the mother-in-law & daughter-in-law, and most of these are quite untrusting. Now again I have opened a "Pandora's box" here.

 The title rightly suggests, "The other woman in my husband's life", for she is someone whom I love to acknowledge and accept. For she is someone who has raised such a gentleman and I can't thank her  enough. The reason that I am subjected to immense love and respect is all because Amma has nurtured my husband to believe in so. Today if my husband is an exemplary figure amongst his peers, is all because of his upbringing.

Amma's life has had its share of ups and downs but she has remained undeterred; her patience and fortitude has stood the test of time. She has not been quite privileged or celebrated in her life but that does not prevent her from being happy in my happiness.

The friends and acquaintances who had cautioned me about the inevitable change in relationship dynamics post marriage, could not survive the test of time but Amma has. Thus being undaunted, I
unfriended such folks and befriended the ones who saw the goodness and genuity in my Amma's eyes.

People ask me don't I love my own biological mother? Oh yes I do, I surely do. But is it weird if I love my mother in law and take both my mother's and her name in the same  breath? Who challenges that? And why would anyone do that?

Amma, the other vital woman in my husband's life, I can never thank you enough for raising the man of my dreams. You are a constant reminder that it is not always the relationships based on blood that are the happiest, there are some outside, built by people like you, who accept others and turn them into their own, smile in their happiness and love them no matter what.

Amma, I thank God for being so biased and sending you for us, to be the best mother my husband could ask for but more than that, the best friend that I could ever dream of.