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Woman Cancels Her Ticket And Leaves Family Vacation After Learning MIL Excluded Her Kids Only
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Woman Cancels Her Ticket And Leaves Family Vacation After Learning MIL Excluded Her Kids Only

Woman Cancels Her Ticket And Leaves Family Vacation After Learning MIL Excluded Her Kids OnlyMother Walks Out On Family Trip After MIL Lies About It Being Woman Realizes MIL Lied About 'Adult Only' Vacation To Exclude Her Kids OnlyWoman Storms Out Of Airport After Learning FMIL Lied About Family Trip Being “Adults Only”Husband Takes Mom's Side After She Lied That Family Trip Was Adults Only And Infuriated His FiancéeFuture MIL Lies About Not Bringing Kids On Family Trip So That Only Her Grandchildren Get To GoMom Lies To Son’s GF About Family Trip Being “Adults Only,” Is Shocked She Doesn’t Take It Well“Adults Only”: Mom Lies About Family Trip So Son’s GF Won’t Bring Her Kids, Drama EnsuesFuture Mother-In-Law Lies About ‘Adult Only’ Holiday So Son’s Fiancée Doesn’t Bring Her Kids
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Family holidays can bring out the worst in people, and Reddit user thatMomma79 learned this the hard way.

After the woman mourned her husband, who tragically succumbed to cancer, she met Jack. The two fell in love and started spending more and more time with each other, but Jack’s mother didn’t approve of her son’s new girlfriend.

This caused serious tension between them, and even the couple’s engagement didn’t help the situation, which eventually culminated during what was supposed to be a fun trip together.

RELATED:

    This mom-of-two got engaged to her boyfriend, but her future mother-in-law wasn’t happy about it

    Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)

    And put it on full display during one of their family trips

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    Image credits: garetsworkshop (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: thatmomma79

    Creating a “blended” family is hard work, but many people are doing it

    The Pew Research Institute estimates that over 40 percent of Americans have at least one step-relative in their family.

    More specifically, among adults ages 51 and older who are grandparents, nearly 22 percent of grandfathers and 20 percent of grandmothers have at least one step-grandchild, according to 2018 research published in the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

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    Patricia Papernow, a Boston-based psychologist and author of Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships, is a stepparent, parent, grandmother, and step-grandmother, and takes issue with language that oversimplifies the bonding process.

    “People go into this expecting blending,” she said. “I always put it in quotes because it captures the longing but not the reality, often, of the stepfamily.”

    She and many other experts highlight that it’s the responsibility of the adults in the family to put the children’s interests first and not make them feel like go-betweens or caught in the middle. Something that Jack’s mom needs to be reminded of.

    “Anything that you do that ups the tension between the adults is hard on kids,” Papernow added.

    Stepparents are generally advised to begin by trying to be friends with their stepchildren as opposed to immediately taking on a parenting role, and step-grandparents can do the same, allowing their relationships to change and deepen over the years. Papernow calls it “connection, not correction.”

    If there’s a big change in the family, like, in this case, a remarriage, it’s a perfect opportunity for the step-grandparent to start bonding with the children. “Very few people ever talk to the kids about this,” Papernow said. “To have someone say out loud, ‘This is a lot of change,’ can be very helpful. And oftentimes the grandparent is in a place to do that.”

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    Hopefully, this family finds a way to make it work for the sake of the little ones.

    Image credits: Jeniffer Araújo (not the actual photo)

    People supported the author of the post, saying that her future mother-in-law’s disapproval was unjustified and insensitive

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

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    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Justinas Keturka

    Justinas Keturka

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

    Read less »

    Justinas Keturka

    Justinas Keturka

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

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    Libstak
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Jack was in on it. He made sure they arrived late at the airport to try and get on the plane before she realised that other children were coming. BIL saw it plain as day and maybe even arranged their own late arrival to conflict with Jack and FMILs failed plot. When Jack proposed, he knew she was a mother and that proposal should absolutely not have happened if he was not 100% ready to be a parent to those girls. He and FMIL are manipulative a.holes and she needs to leave them in her dust. Jack outted himself by not supporting her. How could any of them expect her not to spend the entire holiday resentful and fuming at their blatant lies while watching 3 other kids having fun that her kids should have had with their mum too?

    -
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    2-year-old story. No follow-up. In any case, the future MIL made it plain that she has no interest in a relationship with step-grandchildren. For eff's sake, their father passed away! I hope the OP found a better father for them.

    Tabitha
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OP and BIL need to dump their SOs and get together. They’re the only two decent adults in this whole mess.

    Load More Comments
    Libstak
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Jack was in on it. He made sure they arrived late at the airport to try and get on the plane before she realised that other children were coming. BIL saw it plain as day and maybe even arranged their own late arrival to conflict with Jack and FMILs failed plot. When Jack proposed, he knew she was a mother and that proposal should absolutely not have happened if he was not 100% ready to be a parent to those girls. He and FMIL are manipulative a.holes and she needs to leave them in her dust. Jack outted himself by not supporting her. How could any of them expect her not to spend the entire holiday resentful and fuming at their blatant lies while watching 3 other kids having fun that her kids should have had with their mum too?

    -
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    2-year-old story. No follow-up. In any case, the future MIL made it plain that she has no interest in a relationship with step-grandchildren. For eff's sake, their father passed away! I hope the OP found a better father for them.

    Tabitha
    Community Member
    10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OP and BIL need to dump their SOs and get together. They’re the only two decent adults in this whole mess.

    Load More Comments
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