Mother-in-law thinks her son is ‘living in sin’

Dear Carolyn: I have a great boyfriend whom I’ve been with for several years, and we just bought a house together. The problem: His mother thinks we’re living in sin because we’re not married. She tells her son this about once every three months. I have a major problem with people intruding on my personal life when they’re not invited.

I can’t say anything to his mom because she hasn’t addressed me directly yet — although her last email came perilously close to calling me a woman of loose morals — but everything the boyfriend has tried so far hasn’t worked. Of course, if we ever do marry and have kids, it will be, “Why don’t you go to church?”

We have an extremely honest relationship, so he knows how I feel. He’s willing to fight his mother over it, because he agrees with my concept of privacy. I’m at a total loss here — how do we get the woman to butt out? — It’s Still Salvageable, Right?