The Secret Powers of the Son-in-Law

Working in healthcare, I get a few daily updates with snippets of health information that summarize newsworthy items from the press.  Today, a snippet from the Advisory Board caught my eye, and you’ll see why….it was titled “The Secret Powers of the Son-in-Law,” and of course, I had to read it and share it.  I don’t have enough experience to vouch for it….yes, I’m a daughter-in-law but not married long enough to qualify for the study.  A 26-year longitudinal study of married couples finds that women who initially have close relationships with their parents-in-law are more likely to get divorced 16 years down the road.

The NIH-funded study that will soon be published in the journal Family Relations—began in 1986 and followed 373 couples ages 25 to 37.  Dr. Terry Orbuch, the lead researcher and University of Michigan psychologist , asked each participant to rate the closeness of their relationship with their in-laws on a scale of one to four.  The study found that amongst couples where the husband reported feeling close to his wife’s family were 20% less likely to get divorced over the next 16 years. However, couples where the wife reported feeling close to her husband’s family were 20% more likely to get divorced.

According to Orbuch, the difference may have a lot to do with identity and boundaries. For example, a wife who feels close to her husband’s parents may have trouble establishing certain boundaries and, over time, may regard even well-intentioned advice as meddling.  “Because relationships are so important to women, their identity as a wife and mother is central to their being,” Orbuch says, adding, “They interpret what their in-laws say and do as interference into their identity as a spouse and parent.”

Meanwhile, men tend to put their identity as a provider ahead of their identity as a father and husband. As a result, when husbands feel close to their in-laws, “These ties connect the husband to the wife… They say, ‘Your family relationships are important to me because you are important to me. I want to feel closer to them because it makes me feel closer to you,'” Orbuch concludes.

Some of you who read this may be the parents-in-law, and others may be the son-in-law or the daughter-in-law, and maybe you or someone you know could relate to this.  And, maybe you are still unmarried.  But, the study has its limitations in that although it was a 26-year longitudinal study it followed only a few hundred couples.  Happy Reading or maybe Happy Debating (and, don’t blame me!)!!

Here is a link to the article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal: http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323713104578137222992767676.html?mg=reno64-wsj

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Travel Theme: Liquid

Ailsa’s Travel Theme this week is Liquid, and some  very interesting pictures are posted for the challenge.  Here is my interpretation of the theme:

 

Special Photo Challenge: Inspiration

A Special Photo Challenge this week is about Inspiration and what inspires you to blog? It says “We blog because there are people, places, things, and ideas that we care about so much we can’t help but tell the world about them.”  True.  I started this blog to write about healthcare issues as the name of the blog suggests. Somewhere along the way I posted a few recipes because I’m so passionate about food, and found that it attracted more traffic than my healthcare posts.  And, now I blog mainly to post photographs of colorful recipes, places, and things that draw my attention.  Here is the inspiration for me to write about food and recipes….my recipe appeared in a food magazine recently, and you can read about it in my earlier post. I’m humbled but also encouraged and inspired to do more of what I love to do – cook, take pictures, and blog about it.

I am passionate about all things food and cooking, which means I have to start a new blog or change the name of this blog. Until then, I’ll keep blogging about food and photography.

 

A “Fine Cooking” achievement!

I couldn’t come up with a suitable title for this post – should I go about saying that I’m featured in the Fine Cooking magazine.  My recipe made it to the magazine.  You might recognize this magazine if you love to cook and buy or subscribe to some cooking magazine (s). I don’t subscribe to Fine Cooking – and this is not an advertisement for the publishers – I’m not getting any rewards or prizes for posting this here, but received a complimentary copy of this issue, and you bet that I’m holding on to that for a long time to come 🙂

This issue of Fine Cooking is special.  Yes, the editors did think I was passionate about cooking and very graciously chose my recipe for the December 2012/January 2013 issue.  Was it some fancy recipe that required a trip to the grocery store for ingredients?  No, in fact you’ll be surprised (if you get to the bottom of this post) that most of the ingredients might be in your pantry right now.  I say that because Thanksgiving is just days away and Sweet Potatoes – the star of the recipe – might be in many kitchens already waiting to be whipped up in casseroles and pies, breads and more.

So, I guess the picture tells you what I dished up – Sweet Potato Curry.   Curry?  Not a favorite for Thanksgiving I guess, but for those people who are always looking for a tweak on some recipe – here is a very simple and easy recipe. If you are a vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. If you like your curry spicy, use more than a pinch of cayenne or chili powder. You could add cubed potatoes to the mix or any other vegetable – but for me this is divine. The color is so vibrant, it just looks so gorgeous and tempting, and can be used with rice, couscous, or with flatbread or pita bread. The sauce is delicious and perfect for dipping a piece of bread. It would also be delicious with idlis and dosas.

Here is the rest of the story….

 

SUNDAY POST: Architecture

Here are some examples of architecture – head over to Jake Sprinter’s Sunday Post: Architecture to see other entries.