For the last seven days, Angelo's parents have been visiting us. They flew here all the way from Italy and this was my VERY first time meeting them.

Normally I'm excited for this kind of thing...parents usually LOVE me, even if we're from different cultures...but this time it felt...worrisome.

Days before they set foot in the US, I was nervous, and not just because of the language barrier (they don't speak English and I speak very elementary Italian LOL, my favorite phrase is 'non lo so' which means I don't know HA).

It was also because I knew, from hundreds of FaceTimes, that his mom is pretty...direct. And she definitely 'knows best' 99.9% of the time. She's very Italian and very traditional in the sense that women should cook, clean, etc.

All of my well-meaning friends were like, "They'll LOVE you!" Deep down, I hoped so...but I wasn't too sure.

Because part of me knew that we wouldn't get along very well.

Forget about the fact that Angelo cooks his own pasta and I only cook vegetarian non-Italian dishes (this whole time they've jokingly, but not so jokingly, said it's a 'peccato', which means sin, that I don't eat meat).

But the main discord I knew would be in us not accepting each other for who we are. Resistance to the other person for who she BEE.

To her, I don't cook enough (maybe true?), I don't clean on the hour every hour (this is true), and I don't iron my or her son's clothes (VERY true. I literally buy clothes that don't wrinkle so I never have to iron and even if I have wrinkly clothes, I still wear them cuz I don't really care that much HA).

These are all cardinal sins for Italian housekeeping. "You're the woman of the house! You should be the leader!" she said before lunch one day.

Inside I wanted to scream AND laugh...cuz can't women be the leaders by making loads of money or fulfilling their purpose in life?

Most of us would agree that we weren't born to cook and clean, but not this one. And therein lies the issue at hand. I was resisting her and she was resisting me.

It wasn't until Monday, when we had an open-hearted conversation at the table, that we all put on a more compassionate lens towards each other. Which made all of us like one another a little more than before.

And ironically, that's what today's video is all about...

I literally laughed when I started editing it a few days ago, cuz even though I recorded it before this whole series of events, it's hilarious how much I needed to hear my own advice. Divine timing.

In it, I share...

How to be more well liked even with the most difficult people in your life.
Three keys to have deeper and more open connections with people.
One thing you DON'T wanna do in conversations if you want lasting and fulfilling relationships.

Click here to watch and if you have a situation like this in your life, I sincerely hope this helps <3

All my love,

Kimberly

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