DEAR ABBY: I would like to thank my father-in-law for all of the lessons he's taught my husband:
Thank you for abandoning your girlfriend and newborn son 28 years ago. It has taught him to be a conscientious father to our children.
Thank you for leaving them in poverty. It taught him to work hard for the things he truly wants.
Thank you for never taking him fishing or hunting. It taught him to spend quality time with our daughters.
Thank you for returning to their lives when he was 17, only to cheat on his mother four years later. It has made our marriage stronger.
Thank you for visiting us three or four times in the past seven years. It taught him to appreciate his mother more.
Finally, thank you for never being a role model. It has taught my husband to be a better man. -- GRATEFUL WIFE IN MINNESOTA
DEAR GRATEFUL WIFE: Although the lessons your father-in-law taught your husband may have been inadvertent, it appears your mate took the negatives of his fragmented relationship with his father and turned them into positives. Your open letter demonstrates the lasting effect of examples we set by our behavior.