A letter to my future daughter-in-law

To my future daughter-in-law,

My baby is now 12 years old, so I guess I may have about 15 years before you enter his life in the most magnificent way imaginable.

You must know that he loves with a passion, not seen in most boys. You will feel this when you meet him for the first time. You will probably love him back to bits, find his kind gestures endearing, have the deepest and most honest conversations with him, and never want to let him go.

He will need you like he needs air.

My prediction is that you will live happily ever after….. and to honour and embrace you into our loving family and home, I have created a list of things I will try to drill into him by the time you steal his heart.

1. He will learn to clean up after himself. There’s no other way of saying it. By the time he hits 27, I am hoping he would stop eating marshmallows off the ground, and rolling around in sand.
2. He will understand that coloured clothes are to be washed separately.
3. He will learn to clean the toothpaste off the basin, and the tap, and the countertop, and the wall, and the floor.
4. I PROMISE, he will wipe the pee off the toilet seat and place the lid down. Every single time.
5. He will learn to hand in his homework. This translates later in life to buying everything on the grocery list.
6. He will always take his underwear out of his pants before he throws them in the washing machine. Ok, maybe not always. But most of the time. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
7. I kind of gave up on not peeing behind bushes- that’s your battle to fight. Remind me to tell you about the time we got stopped by a policeman while on the way to Johor.
8. He will need to play outside (yes, men never outgrow this). But I promise he will learn to take his shoes off before he comes into the house.
9. I will make sure he understands that no random animal on the street can be brought home without getting permission first.
10. He will not watch Nickelodeon (read: soccer matches) all day and all night, while you look after the house. He will be as involved as you are in the chores and kids, but do let him indulge occasionally, please.
11. Being on time. Before he becomes yours, I will teach him not to say “I’m on my way” when he’s still in the shower.
12. His Legos will not go with him. Nobody deserves the punishment of stepping on those little buggers.

Dear future daughter-in-law,

Yes he has his share of flaws, and he may annoy you (and me) at times with his habits, but don’t give up on him. Don’t let all of this does overwhelm you, or make you change your mind about loving him, because he is a gem of a guy.

And here’s what I can promise:

My son will love you with everything in him. You will be the most important woman in his life. You will be his best friend, the woman who he will walk through life with. He will be filled with reverent awe watching you raise your children with him.

He will respect, worship and treasure you. He will take every moment you spend and hold it so close to his heart, you will then know why he is worth all of it.

He is the most soft-hearted human being I know and he will make you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He does that for me now and I know he will do that to you.

And I will happily pass him on to you – because if he has chosen you, I know you must mean the world to him. You are special. To him, and to me.

And for a mother who loves her son more than anything else in this world, and for me to hand over the love of my life to you, it must only say one thing: I will love you as much, too.