You guys, this week has been BANANAS. I’ve had four different meetings, work, passed 1,000 followers on Instagram, and planned a trip to Hawaii. I’m moving at high speed. 

So last night in between episodes of the office, I asked Mike what he plans to call my parents after we’re married. Dun, dun, dun.

We both have foreign parents – mine are from Lebanon and his are from Nicaragua. I love that because culturally, I think we share a lot of the same values. His family is very family oriented, as is mine. I’m very close to his parents, and I’d like to think he feels the same way about my parents as well. 

I asked him, and he paused. He thought about it. Then he just half-laughed and said he hadn’t thought about it. It IS weird to think about!

My mom got lucky – in Arabic, they call the in-laws "aunt" (Tante) and "uncle" (A’amou). Personally, I love that because it feels special and endearing but still different from "mom" and "dad." Mike’s parents each called their in-laws "Don" and Doña" – a Spanish term of respect. Same thing. 

I’ve seen and heard a wide variety of approaches for what to call the in-laws. I know some people who stick to last names, others who go for mom and dad, and some who prefer first names. I don’t mind any of those. What I don’t like is indecisiveness resulting in no addressing at all. 

My dad totally pulled this with my grandma. He didn’t know what to call her, so he stuck to saying "helllooooo…" long enough to fill the space of any title. 

I think I would definitely prefer to call his parents mom and dad over their first names. Some of me prefers "Mr. and Mrs." over "mom and dad," but it feels formal and stilted after marrying their son.

How did you and your spouse approach this?

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