"It was a difficult pregnancy and a traumatic birth, followed by a surprise spine surgery for my partner, and-just six months later-a broken leg for me. We live across the country from our in-laws, so their support is limited. However, my husband is deeply hurt by how little effort his dad and stepmom make for us, especially for him, compared to what they do for his three siblings and four stepsiblings."
"Some of the things they've done that have really hurt include not meeting our daughter until she was six months old, even after we'd asked them to visit when I broke my leg. They mail us terrible gifts once or twice a year-the same ones they give to all the other kids and grandkids-which only display how little they know us or understand our values. They never call or text first. And probably most hurtful of all, they exclude my husband from family functions."
"Lately, I've noticed he is being completely left out. For example, his dad recently planned a family trip to Europe but didn't invite him (his siblings were invited). He is the youngest, and there is some residual pain from a childhood in which he often felt uncared for, so it is not only painful but also triggering to be left out as an adult."
The couple experienced a difficult pregnancy, a traumatic birth, a partner's spine surgery, and a later broken leg for the narrator. They live across the country from the in-laws, whose support is minimal and inconsistent. The husband feels deeply hurt by the in-laws' greater attention to other children and stepsiblings, and by repeated exclusion from family events. The in-laws delayed meeting the baby, send impersonal gifts, rarely initiate contact, and make excuses for not visiting. A planned family trip that omitted the husband triggered childhood wounds and intensified feelings of being uncared for and excluded.
Read at Slate Magazine
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