Worst gift: I have so
many horror stories about my in-laws that I don't even know where
to start. One year before I was married, I developed papillary
cancer of the thyroid and had to have an operation to remove my
thyroid. I didn't receive a get well card or even a kind word
from my husband's family. They knew what I was going through,
and we had already been dating for over two years at this time.
Since the thyroid regulates your metabolism, this caused me to gain
weight. I went from a dress size six to a ten. I have
a SIL who is very weight conscious and works out all the time (my
husband tells me she was a heavy teenager). She makes snide
comments about overweight people all the time. She also gets
this from her mother, my MIL. This Xmas she gave me a size
extra large, sleeveless, thin, see-through, knitted blouse made
out of a net like material. I didn't know how to react, so
I just said, "Thanks," and placed it back in the box without
trying it on. I have gained weight, but I still fit a size
medium or large. It was not necessary to purchase a size extra
large. I know that it was her snide way of telling me to lose
weight. I eat a balanced diet and run at least 2 miles, three
times a week. My health is more important to me than my dress
size, and I am not about to let her project her own insecurities
unto me. Luckily, my husband was with me when I went to exchange
it. He was able to hear the salesperson say, "I can't
believe how ugly some of the things we carry are." P.S.
The blouse only costs $9.99 and my SIL drives an expensive, imported
car, and wears only designer clothes.
Signed - Too Numb to
Care
RESPONSE: Too Numb to Care
At any rate, anyone who acts like this to anyone suffering from
a health related problem, or any weight problem at all, should be
disdained. Every normal human being would be ashamed to be
caught acting like that in the middle of the night, let alone in
the presence of all the family at Xmas. Cheer up! Do
not let boars give you pains.
Worst gift: The worst
present my MIL (should be "outlaw") gave me was a used
t-shirt that she has worn many times. She has even worn it
in front of me!
Signed - Obedient DIL
To A Domineering MIL
Frequent
Fry Her TM.
- The Fish 1 of 4 /Posted: 10-FEB-02
The Betrothal. MIL was VERY angry when she
found out we'd be getting married. See, DH had been married
before. And, in MIL's book, the ONLY a reason a husband and
wife ever get divorced is when the man has an affair. Therefore,
DH MUST have been screwing around on his first wife. Therefore,
it is HER responsibility not to support him and offer him an ear
during his time of crisis, but to harangue him and tell him what
a horrible man he was for FORCING his wife to leave, and that he
was a TERRIBLE father. I could go on, but you get the picture.
So, DH asked me if I wanted to go with him when he goes over to
tell MIL and FIL that we were getting married. Ummm, let's
see - NO! You get to do that one all by yourself, buddy boy!
So, DH, being the chicken he is, took the kids with him, presumably
as a buffer. So, he went in and told mommy dearest.
FIL was not home. And, you know what mommy said? In
FRONT of her ONLY grandchildren, she FORBID DH to have any more
children with me (yeah, and YOU get a say in that WHEN?) because,
get this, "You don't love the ones you have." And,
then DH had to explain away her words to his children the rest of
the evening! What a b!tch!!!! It doesn't matter who
she hurts, as long as she hurts her son. I'm not sure what
I was more angry about - her presumption that she actually gets
a say in MY procreative activities, or the fact that she just really
confused the cr@p out of her grandkids.
Frequent
Fry Her TM.
- The Fish 2 of 4 /Posted: 10-FEB-02
Here's the story of the first time I ever met my
future MIL. I was still DH's girlfriend. We'd been dating
for about 6-7 months at the time. I knew it was going to be
kind of odd, because DH didn't talk to his mother very much.
My oldest stepdaughter, then 11 or about to be 12, kept telling
me that grandma doesn't like anybody. I remember the previous
fall, that MIL and FIL had gone on vacation. I knew they had
come back, and I was urging DH to call her to say, "hi".
See, at this point I thought she was normal, and that everyone had
a relationship with their mother the way I did (or had, before she
died). DH got very angry with me, as I was urging him to call
her, and said he did not want to talk to her unless he had to.
Hmmm. Big red flag there. So, she came over (they, unfortunately,
live only 5-10 minutes away) to bring DH and the kids their souvenirs
from this trip (4 months later). So, she brought some stuff
in the house, and DH and SS headed out to her car to get the rest.
I was sitting on the stairs that led from our kitchen to the upstairs.
My SD brought MIL into the kitchen and said, "Grandma, this
is XXXXX." MIL didn't even GLANCE in my direction.
She said, in that really irritating old-lady "my way or the
highway" voice, "So is THAT the one that says your father
cheats at backgammon?" Then she turned around and walked
out of the kitchen!! SD was embarrassed, but not surprised.
I was so embarrassed, that my butt stayed glued to the step I was
sitting on until the b!tch left the house. See, the day before,
we had been playing backgammon. DH vs. me and SS and SD.
It was a funny kind of game. We were ALL cheating outrageously,
and it was all in good fun. At some point I DID call DH a
cheater, but it wasn't an angry kind of thing. It was just
the way the game was going - we were all laughing about it.
This was my first lesson in kids remembering and repeating EXACTLY
what you don't want them to. And, MIL isn't the kind to understand
that. Hindsight tells me that I probably should have called
her on her behavior right away, but would a simple "Hi"
have been too difficult? Apparently!
RESPONSE: MIL Isn't The Kind To Understand
Your MIL sounds like a creep, like mine. I once made a joke
about my DH, simply because he said it is impossible to embarrass
him. It was a little personal, but everyone laughed, especially
my DH. Now, years later, she keeps bringing this up, as if
I were cutting him down (or sexually twisted). It was only
a joke - geez lady!
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Worst Gift Stories
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