Things sound really good for you. Lots of baby steps. I think that the MIL thing will be good. I really do. My reasoning is that a) she will initially provide some support for you W and possibly some babysitting services, but might eventually become an annoyance to your W. B) She might be helpful in terms of getting together with your W (especially if she likes you) and C) she may raise some positives about you that won't be seen as you directly pursuing. In my sitch, my ex-ILs have invited me to things with their daughter. Sometimes they almost seem to thrust us together to see what shakes down. And I know that they feel she made a mistake and possibly express some of their feelings about the D.
While my ex-ILs are in town for the summer and they do see my X some, I don't feel that she is getting the kind of support from them that she needs. They don't hang out nearly as much as I expected that they would. I hope this turns out to be a plus.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt
