Mother-in-Law
My mother-in-law is a saint to most people. Nice, warm, caring, all the saintly stuff. I wish I could see her in the same light as everyone else. To me, she's overbearing, pushy, and just plain treats me poorly at times.
Last night was one of those times. I had an extremely long day at work yesterday. To top it off, I had class from 4:00 to 5:00. By 5:00, I was absolutely pushed beyond my limits. I get home and the phone is ringing. After sitting in front of a phone all day long, the last thing I want to do is talk on the phone when I get home. So, I let it ring. 10 minutes later it starts ringing again. This time I pick it up. It's my mother-in-law. She had dropped Zachary of at the tutors house and was making sure that I was home from work in time to pick him back up. Too bad the conversation didn't end there. By the end, I was crying and in the midst of having an anxiety attack.
She proceeds to start with "now, I don't try interfere with the way my children are raising their children, but............." Apparently Zachary and Charlie had words over something that I had no clue about. I cut her off and told her if she was going to talk to me about my 'negative' household she had to fill me in on what happened. Charlie had told Zach that he needed to feed the dogs and take out the trash, that he hadn't done it when he was supposed to before he left with Grandma. To me, no big deal, to Janet, a negative exchange that was sure to crush his spirit and turn him to a life of substance abuse and crime. I became upset. I spoke up. I told her that she had no idea what my house was like behind closed doors and for her to make a judgment based on one snapshot of time was unfair. By now, I'm in tears. I then went on to ask who was she to make judgment on me anyway?? Considering the stuff that I have to deal with on a day to day basis (and we both knew I was referring to Charlie) she should be thankful that I even stay. She was quiet for a second. I kept going. I said I worked my butt off to provide for this family and do it because I want to, because I want my kids to have a good childhood. I then said (with a note of sarcasm) I could be like my mother. (I know, very low blow.) She apologized, but it was too late. I was very hurt.
Last night was one of those times. I had an extremely long day at work yesterday. To top it off, I had class from 4:00 to 5:00. By 5:00, I was absolutely pushed beyond my limits. I get home and the phone is ringing. After sitting in front of a phone all day long, the last thing I want to do is talk on the phone when I get home. So, I let it ring. 10 minutes later it starts ringing again. This time I pick it up. It's my mother-in-law. She had dropped Zachary of at the tutors house and was making sure that I was home from work in time to pick him back up. Too bad the conversation didn't end there. By the end, I was crying and in the midst of having an anxiety attack.
She proceeds to start with "now, I don't try interfere with the way my children are raising their children, but............." Apparently Zachary and Charlie had words over something that I had no clue about. I cut her off and told her if she was going to talk to me about my 'negative' household she had to fill me in on what happened. Charlie had told Zach that he needed to feed the dogs and take out the trash, that he hadn't done it when he was supposed to before he left with Grandma. To me, no big deal, to Janet, a negative exchange that was sure to crush his spirit and turn him to a life of substance abuse and crime. I became upset. I spoke up. I told her that she had no idea what my house was like behind closed doors and for her to make a judgment based on one snapshot of time was unfair. By now, I'm in tears. I then went on to ask who was she to make judgment on me anyway?? Considering the stuff that I have to deal with on a day to day basis (and we both knew I was referring to Charlie) she should be thankful that I even stay. She was quiet for a second. I kept going. I said I worked my butt off to provide for this family and do it because I want to, because I want my kids to have a good childhood. I then said (with a note of sarcasm) I could be like my mother. (I know, very low blow.) She apologized, but it was too late. I was very hurt.
@ 7:14 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home