Insulting in-laws’ weighty remarks are not welcome

My inlaws always seem to feel the need to comment on people’s weight, either right to their faces at a family function or gossiping about it behind their backs.

Ironically, they are not exactly thin.

My brother-in-law and his wife are quite heavy (my brother-in-law much more so), but his parents (my inlaws) only comment about his wife, exaggerating her weight over his.

My mother-inlaw has said to my daughter, in front of everyone at Thanksgiving, “‘You were pretty heavy there for a while, but you look pretty good now.” My daughter is the recipient of at least one insult per visit. These comments are usually made during holidays, and with these zingers being hurled on a regular basis, people are not eager to be with them. My husband will never stand up to them, and he’s in his 60’s.

Also, they never seem interested in anything we do, be it trips we’ve taken, movies or concerts we’ve seen or our jobs.

Whatever we’ve done, they’ve either seen it, done it or put it down as something or somewhere they would never go or do.

We continue to inquire about their lives, but they just aren’t interested in ours. I’ve known them for more than 30 years, and they’ve always been this way.

I hope they see themselves in this letter and think about how hurtful their actions are.

— Weight Does Not Equal Worth DEAR WEIGHT DOES NOT EQUAL >> When I was a child, my own grandparents lived across the country. We rarely saw them. But whenever we did see them, my grandmother’s only comments to her grandchildren involved our weight, our looks and our relative standing (in attractiveness) to our cousins.

Realistically, my grandmother might have had much more extensive conversations with my siblings and me, but once she called me a little fatty, my ears started ringing and I didn’t hear anything else.

As a parent, when a similar dynamic surfaced, I privately asked the in-law not to comment on weight, and they were very receptive to this correction.

If your mother-in-law casually hurls one of these comments your way, in the moment you should say, “Please, let’s not discuss our weight today.” Your husband will never push back, possibly because he doesn’t want to land in their crosshairs.

Otherwise, concerning their behavior — gasbagging on about themselves, hurling insults across the table, demonstrating a lack of interest in others — all of this simply means that family members will do their best to avoid spending time with them.

This is too bad for all of you, and it is probably not the way they want to be remembered.

DEAR AMY >> I love my guy, but at times he can be as cold as ice.

Here is the scenario: I am busy making a delicious dinner in the kitchen. I ask him, “Honey will you feed the dog?” His answer? “No.” No further comment.

I ask him why, even though I am pretty sure I know why. It is because this very sweet little rescue dog belongs to my son, who left her at our house without consulting us.

I fell in love with this dog as soon as I saw her.

My husband knows how I feel about her, but he sticks to his guns. His reasoning is, “It’s not my problem. It’s not my dog.” He knows this makes me very sad.

Isn’t there something creepy about a man who won’t feed a dog — the one that lives in our house that his wife is crazy about?

— What the Heck in Denver

DEAR WHAT THE HECK >> I think there is “something creepy” about abandoning an animal and imposing it on a household without asking first. I assume your husband is reacting to this lack of respect on your son’s part, as well as your own choice to immediately claim kinship — also (presumably) without asking him.

Swallow your self-righteous sadness and ask your husband to forgive you for imposing this animal onto your household. And, yes, because of the way you have handled this — this is your dog, so you need to feed and take care of her.

I’d like to add to your advice to “Working Hard, Hardly Working,” from the person who had trouble concentrating while working at his local coffee shop.

He needs to go to the library! We allow laptops and drinks, have free WiFi and offer an overall quiet and peaceful environment. We librarians love to see people working within our walls.

— Librarian

DEAR LIBRARIAN >> Public libraries are adjusting to serve the public, while staying true to their mission. Great suggestion.

DEAR AMY >> My wife of three years is interviewing for a new job at her company. This would be a major shift in her career.

I fully support her change and have been there for her during this process.

I have expressed my love and belief in her, but also cautioned her to be prepared to not get the job, even though she may be a qualified internal candidate.

How should I handle myself in the event she doesn’t get the job?

I have been patient and a good listener for the last three months when this all started, but my patience in terms of hearing about this has grown very thin.

If she doesn’t get the job, I will be the one picking up the pieces. — Arizona Husband

DEAR HUSBAND >> It sounds as if your real gripe is with your wife’s preoccupation with this job change. I assume that she is distracted at home and talking about it often.

Your job is not to remind of her of the downside at every turn.

You need to listen, ask relevant questions and also let your wife know that her preoccupation with this is affecting you. (“Honey, this issue is taking over. Can we change the subject for a while?”)

You should be supportive and in her corner. Nothing else is required.

If your wife does not get the job, you should not be picking up the pieces — she should.

Contact Amy Dickinson via email at askamy@tribpub. com.