Still Talking About It

In case you missed the memo, Janelle is CANADIAN. As in, she lives in CANADA. Where Thanksgiving is celebrated in OCTOBER. On a Monday. (Or Sunday, depending on when your family chooses to get together).    Apparently, some Americans in her comments section didn't get that memo after Janelle posted a Thanksgiving skit on social media… and they were VERY quick to try to correct her. Oops.   This week, Janelle is debriefing CANADIAN Thanksgiving and getting into the complicated expectations that come with family gatherings. Who's hosting? Who's expected to show up? And why do some families insist on getting everyone together when half the people in the room don't even like each other?   She also talks about the difference between REAL closeness and the kind of fake family closeness where everyone pretends things are great for the sake of tradition, why your comfort level with extended family matters, and how holidays can bring out some of the most frustrating dynamics between in-laws.   For more mother-in-law content, make sure you're following Janelle on Instagram and TikTok.  

By now, you’ve probably seen the viral video from the San Francisco Giants game. A mom walks back to her seat carrying her baby, a diaper bag, and an impressive amount of food… while her husband just sits there, watching her do it.   The internet IMMEDIATELY had thoughts.   This week, Janelle is talking about the video, the wife’s response defending her husband, and what happens when we decide we know everything about someone based on a few seconds of their life.   Because daughters-in-law know a little something about being judged based on a single snapshot.   Janelle gets into the double standards women face as wives and mothers, why people seem VERY willing to offer grace to certain family members but not others, and how one less-than-perfect moment can quickly become evidence of who someone supposedly is as a person.   She also talks about the importance of advocating for your partner, why context matters, and the media literacy we could probably ALL use before deciding we understand someone’s marriage, parenting, or family dynamic based on one viral clip.   Sometimes, the optics aren’t great… but they also don’t always paint a full picture.   For more mother-in-law content, make sure you're following Janelle on Instagram and TikTok.

How does a relationship with your in-laws go from manageable to strained, or even completely nonexistent? Usually, there’s a story behind it.   This week, Janelle asked her followers what finally changed THEIR relationships with their in-laws… and once again, you guys had a lot to say.   She’s getting into some of the moments that became breaking points, from in-laws who disappeared when their families needed them most to grandparents keeping score, ignoring health boundaries, refusing to take accountability, and sharing VERY personal announcements on social media before the parents had a chance to do it themselves.   Janelle also talks about why new parents shouldn’t be responsible for managing everyone else’s expectations, how quickly trust can disappear when boundaries are repeatedly ignored, and the surprisingly powerful role a genuine apology can play when you screw up.   For more mother-in-law content, make sure you're following Janelle on Instagram and TikTok.  

This week, Janelle got an email from “Aunt Linda”… and there is A LOT to unpack.   Linda is worried about her 24-year-old nephew’s girlfriend. He’s spent roughly $35,000 of his savings since they started dating, his family recently came into some money, and Linda and her sister are starting to wonder whether this girlfriend sees their son as her “golden ticket.”   So… should they be concerned? Or should they mind their own business?   Janelle gets into the difference between genuine concern and inserting yourself into another adult’s relationship, why a grown man gets to decide how he spends his own money, and how quickly blaming the girlfriend can damage the relationship you have with your adult child.   She also talks about the difference between boundaries and control, what parents CAN do if they’re uncomfortable financially supporting an adult child, and why sometimes the best thing you can do before sharing an unsolicited opinion is ask yourself whether anyone actually asked for it.   For more mother-in-law content, make sure you're following Janelle on Instagram and TikTok.  

Janelle has a few hills she’s willing to die on when it comes to mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, and complicated family dynamics… and apparently, so does the internet.   This week, she’s diving deeper into two recent viral posts and explaining WHY she stands so firmly behind some of her most talked-about opinions.   Stop scolding your adult children.  Treat your grandchildren equally.  Respect a boundary without arguing about it for three weeks first.  And maybe, just MAYBE, the daughter-in-law who notices the unhealthy family dynamic isn’t automatically the person who created it.   Janelle also gets into what happens when your adult child gets married and builds a family of their own, why that SHOULD change the family dynamic, and why a daughter-in-law’s feelings, comfort, and mental health matter just as much as everyone else’s.   For more mother-in-law content, make sure you're following Janelle on Instagram and TikTok.