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• Monday, January 30, 2006 06:57 PM

  Mother-in-law

  I preface this statement by saying I have the world's BEST mother-in-law whom, if she showed up on my doorstep tonight, she'd be welcome to live with me forever... same for my father-in-law.

  This being said, the LW's mother-in-law is a kind of a bitch. Fairly simple. At least as described. There is NO way the husband should tolerate this kind of cruelty to the LW from his mother. Mom or not, if you won't give a mother her baby back, you may just need a metaphorical backhand. Thanksgiving after a C section? McDonalds is right down the street. Have a McTurkey burger and shut the hell up.

  Granted, your odd little death fantasies demean yourself, LW. I UNDERSTAND how you feel, but those thoughts only make you a sadder person inside.

  Put your foot down, and do not let yourself be handled in that fashion. It needn't be mean, or ugly, or even mean spirited, but you AND your husband need to put up a unified front here.

  On the other hand, keep in mind this woman, for all her flaws, sacrificed greatly for the man you love, and helped him become the man he is today. There are some people who just don't understand proper manners (didn't have good raisin's, as we used to say).

  Mother's day IS your day, but it is also her day. It doesn't excuse her behaviour, and I am not implying that rudeness and tactlessness should be tolerated, just keep it in mind. I think a happy compromise can be made, not just one where you have to grit your teeth, and not one where the mother-in-law has to meet her end at the front of a bus.

  Dave

  —pharmd2b Read pharmd2b's other letters
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