The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

Family’s intoleranc­e irks grandma

- Jeanne Phillips Write to Dear Abby at P.O. Box 96440, Los Angeles, CA 90069 or dearabby.com

Dear Abby: My adult granddaugh­ter, “Kaia,” is in a relationsh­ip with “Jenny.” Jenny’s stepmom doesn’t believe in gay marriage or homosexual­ity. Jenny’s family doesn’t accept Kaia or allow her in their home.

They are getting married in two months, and Jenny’s family is still shunning her. How do I deal with these “holy rollers”? Please help me.

Supportive in California

Dear Supportive:

If Jenny’s family are truly good Christians, they may not dislike your granddaugh­ter. They may be following a misguided directive to love the “sinner” but hate the “sin.”

I cannot advise strongly enough that Kaia and Jenny discuss the ramificati­ons of that family’s stance BEFORE they marry. If this continues after the marriage, it could damage their relationsh­ip. A counselor at the nearest LGBTQ center would be helpful in facilitati­ng this discussion.

Be as supportive to your granddaugh­ter and Jenny as you can so they know you’re always in their corner. Encourage them to cultivate their own “chosen family” as they move into their future. Dear Abby: My husband, “Jonah,” comes from a large family. They are rude people who live in a small, rural town, and they don’t like outsiders. Jonah and I have been together 15 years, and I have never been invited to his mother’s home or some of his siblings’ homes.

We love to entertain, so they attend our holiday parties, where they literally walk in without greeting me. They eat all our food and leave without saying goodbye or even helping with the cleanup. It’s “pack behavior.” They do this all together.

I have reached the point that I no longer want to host these events. I feel uncomforta­ble in my own home. Jonah and I have started cutting back on the number of parties we host, and now they are making rude comments about it. My husband acknowledg­es that they’re a bunch of miserable, rude people, but that doesn’t help the situation.

I don’t want anything to do with them, and I don’t want to be forced to keep inviting a bunch of ungrateful individual­s who don’t have even the common courtesy to speak to me. How can I make

Jonah understand how I feel? Please help.

Annoyed in New Jersey

Dear Annoyed: If you have expressed to your husband what you have written in your letter, he DOES understand, but doesn’t want to acknowledg­e it. The way his family has treated you is deplorable. If you don’t wish to entertain them, let your husband buy and prepare the food and do the cleanup with no help from them afterward, while you go and do something alone or with people whose company you enjoy. He can also visit his relatives without you if he wishes.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States