As her offspring start to become young adults, engaging in their own relationships, becoming more independent, a mother may look forward to the time when her children are off her hands, settled in their own relationships.
She may hope to eventually become a grandmother, with all the satisfaction and pleasure that comes from that role.
The reality is often a little more tricky than that.
The progression from mother to mother-in-law can be a diplomatic tightrope, especially at first.
What is it about becoming a mother-in-law? Even the nicest of mothers can be regarded as interfering or over-possessive when they become a mother-in-law.
Their new son or daughter-in-law may feel threatened by the dynamics of their family-in-law, especially if their own experiences of family life were very different.
Jealousy may be a factor as the desire to be the most important person in their partner's life becomes stronger.
Changing status from boyfriend or girlfriend to husband or wife can cause tension to occur and perhaps even a power struggle to arise.
Some families have grown up sharing everything, all the details of their lives on a regular basis.
Becoming a mother-in-law may mean that such intimacy stops as the new living arrangements start to take precedence.
Even when a couple have lived together before marriage it often a fact that once they marry things change.
Loyalty changes and a spouse often expects to have more say, more influence and first claim on their partner's time and attention than their other relatives.
A new son or daughter-in-law is often keen to be accepted, wants to be welcomed as a new addition to the family.
But upgrading their role to spouse can cause a dramatic change.
There is a significant difference between boyfriend or girlfriend and partner.
Often everyone is all too aware of the subtle shift of role and this can be difficult for a mother to accept, especially if she was very close to her child or regularly involved in the details of the couple's life before they married.
Taking a step back can be very hard to accept.
Some couples start life together by living together under the same roof with family.
This can be problematical, as the logistics of cooking, establishing separate routines and timetables need accommodating.
A mother may be tempted to ease their burden by offering to cook, do the laundry, clean, and indeed she may be happy to help if she has the time and has done those chores for years.
A new daughter-in-law may perceive such offers as subtle criticism, that she is not good enough or has a less than perfect way of doing things.
Making their own mistakes and finding their own way of doing things can be an important part of a couple starting their lives together.
It can take a little time and include a few disasters, but that is often part of their journey together.
A mother-in-law may know that she can be of help but it has to be offered tactfully and with sensitivity.
Offering help in a specific situation can sometimes be enough to communicate support and empathy.
Occasionally taking her daughter-in-law out for lunch or a coffee can be friendly and supportive.
A good relationship can be established as two individuals, away from the home, in a relaxed, neutral setting.
Arguments between the couple can be a difficult area, as a mother often wants to protect her child from hurt and distress.
When one person confides in their family it can be hard not to get involved, take sides, give advice, agree with whatever negative things have been.
The problem is that things said cannot be unsaid and can colour the mood at future meetings.
Taking sides can start to create tension between members in a family, cause future embarrassment and make any attempts at reconciliation tougher.
Relationship counselling can be a good option as it provides a neutral environment for the couple to address their issues and work out the best way forward.
Start as you mean to go on is a good rule of thumb.
At first settling down brings its own honeymoon period, but quickly establishing good habits that suit both sides longterm is important.
Being tolerant, honest and maintaining a sense of humour and perspective can set in place good habits about visiting each other, mutual respect, privacy and all those other niggles that can over time erode good will and cause major tensions and disharmony in families.