Relatives by marriage but close friends by choice, these locals say they drew the lucky straw when it comes to in-laws.
KRISTEN BUS & HELEN BUS
“I was pretty lucky that Helen already knew my family so I had an in,” Kristen says of meeting her man’s mum at his 18th birthday party.
“She was really lovely and made me feel welcomed straight away.”
Impressive, considering Helen had no idea Tim even had a girlfriend!
“He keeps things to himself pretty well,” Helen laughs. “But I knew from that first meeting Kristen was a keeper. Besides, we’ve known Kristen’s parents and grandparents for a long time so there was already a really good friendship with both families. We loved the two of them getting together.”
Kristen, an administration assistant at James Cook University, says her mother-in-law has similar qualities to her husband Tim, in that she is very warm, caring and easy to talk to.
“When Tim was playing football we used to drive to either Ingham or Ayr to watch him play,” Kristen recalls. “It was usually only the two of us so it was great because we got to chat about anything and everything.”
As well as Tim, Kirsten and Helen have a lot of other things in common — like being afraid of frogs, for instance. “I actually love the fact she’s petrified of frogs like me,” Helen says.
“Whenever one appears, I’m not the only one freaking out — it takes the focus off me!”
Helen also enjoys the fact Kristen is very quick-witted and able to give as much cheek as her family endearingly dishes out.
“Kristen fits into our family really well as she isn’t afraid to be honest and give her opinion, especially at family dinners,” Helen says.
“She’s also slowly coming to terms with a hot curry or chilli snuck into meals.”