It is hard to imagine how a simple family dinner could turn into an emotional mine field, but that’s exactly what happened to me last weekend.
What I thought would be a peace assembly with my new son -in -law, quickly turned into a painful and confusing experience that let me question everything.
I just wanted to bring food that reminded me of my late mother and share her part with my husband’s family. I knew a little that the little act would cause an explosive reaction and left me a broken heart.
I’m a 25 -year -old newlywed, married to my amazing husband, who is 28 years old.
Last weekend I brought food made from one of my late mother’s recipes for my father -in -law dinner. When I put it on the table, my father -in -law saved me a cool look and cried, “Remove your mother’s food from my house!”
I was so upset that I left and waited for an hour in the car and fought tears.
The way home was quiet until my husband suddenly started laughing and said, “You heard a joke my cousin did at dinner? He’s cheerful – should he be a comedian.”
I sat there in shock and felt hurt that he didn’t even notice that I left, nor did he recognize the disrespect his mother showed me.
It was just the second time I attended a family gathering with my relatives and for the third time I met his mother. My own mom died a year before we got married, so my father -in -law never had a chance to meet her.
I do not understand where this hostility comes from, and now I feel not only humiliated, but also deeply injured, that my mom’s memory was disrespect.
What is even more painful is that my husband did not recognize what had happened or apologized. It remains indifferent and I feel completely unsupported.
I try to move it out of it, especially without an apology or understanding from my husband or his mother.
Conclusion
This experience let me feel deeply disrespectful and unsupported, not just my father -in -law, but also my husband. The pain that my mother’s memory was released in such a hard way, associated with a lack of understanding my husband, created an important emotional barrier for me.
It is difficult to move forward when I feel that my feelings are ignored and lack of apology or recognition only contributes to injury. I am embarrassed and I do not know how to rebuild confidence and emotional support in this situation without doing bad.
The silence from my husband and my mother -in -law feels like a weight that I can’t shake.