Dear Suffering
Dear Tara,
My problem is my mother-in-law. She puts me down in subtle, and not so subtle, ways. Nothing I do has ever been good enough. Her word is never to be questioned and her judgments perfect. I hate conflict, so over the years I’ve done my best to not dwell on the slights. To be fair, she is good to our children. I do appreciate that. I don’t want negative conflict in our family, but I’ve been her doormat long enough. I want to tell her the snide comments aren’t okay. It’s time I started drawing some lines. Don’t I have the right to stand up for myself without causing a family war? Isn’t it important to not let her walk on me in the name of peace? I’ve waited for her to respect me long enough. I’m done.
Suffering in Sausalito