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I'm very lucky to have my MIL. My own mother was a bipolar addict while I was growing up and I had a very unstable home life. My husband, on the other hand, had the exact opposite. I met DH when I was 17 and she's always treated me with respect (which is crazy considering her son married the weirdo with pink hair he met in high school). If I wanted her to be a mother figure to me she would be. But I'm just not the kind of person who leans on other people. The environment I grew up in has made me very independent and disinclined to rely on people.

She's a way better person than my own mother and while we do have various issues regarding communication, I'm very lucky to have her in my life. Most of our issues just stem from the fact that we are very different people. She's very outgoing and extroverted and flexible while I'm the opposite. My biggest thing is just that there's very little planning when it comes to family gatherings and it makes me a little batty because I'm never sure what's happening.

We get along fine, although we don't have any real connection. She's VERY laid-back and deferential to me almost to a fault - like I wish she's take charge when she visits and start doing things around the house/with DD. But I can't complain at all.

I chose other. My MIL is good at projecting a sweet little old lady image for a while, but in reality she is very negative, passive-aggressive and would be manipulative if she were smarter. It's not entirely her fault, she has at least one mental health diagnosis. On her good days she can be fine. But much of the time she is very unpleasant to be around.