My mother-in-law holds a grudge like nobody’s business. Thankfully, I have always been on her good side. My brother-in-law is not so lucky.
The poor guy can’t catch a break with her. She doesn’t like the way he hugs her whenever they greet each other; she doesn’t like the way he eats his soup at a restaurant and she especially doesn’t like the way he is so strict when it comes to certain areas of parenting. Meanwhile, my sister-in-law (her daughter) hugs her the exact same way, has terrible table manners and the parenting rules stem more from her than from him, though he agrees with most things she recommends.
The main grudge comes from something he supposedly did on their wedding night. As the story goes — I wasn’t on the scene at the time — he was dancing with his bride when her father came to cut in. He passed her off to her father and simultaneously reached out for his own mother, inadvertently leaving our mother-in-law standing alone on the dance floor.
This was almost a decade ago and she hasn’t let it go. How can I help both of them get past this? It makes for uncomfortable dinners and family get-togethers. Though I strongly appreciate your desire to smooth the waters and help everyone get past this moment of awkward history, I would advise you not to get involved.
Thus far you have a clean sheet, which I’m sure your partner is grateful for. He obviously knows what his mother is capable of and would rather not be the recipient of her negativity. If .
