In this column, a mother recounts her experience at her husband's stepmother's funeral with her two-year-old daughter, who became disruptive during the service. She was criticized by her in-laws for ruining a professionally recorded video of the service due to her daughter's noise. While acknowledging her in-laws' grievances, she questions why recordings were made in the first place. Dear Abby advises the mother to communicate the challenges of attending with small children and suggests that the child's presence, although distracting, could symbolize life's continuity even amidst sorrow.
When viewed from a different perspective, the sound of a young child at that sad time, although distracting, may have been a reminder that life renews itself.
The problem with 20/20 hindsight is that it isn't foresight. Yes, you should have spoken up and reminded your in-laws about the attention span of a 2-year-old.
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