Among the worst things a mother can experience is being ignored or excluded by her kids. Nadine just overcome a comparable problem. Her in-laws treating her children differently than their other grandkids and not inviting them to a large family gathering infuriated her. Needing direction, Nadine searched the internet for assistance.

Nadine sent me this letter.

My in-laws treated the entire family to a fine dining restaurant for supper to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary. Fred, nine, and Sara, seven, stayed home with us as they were told that only adults may attend.

When I arrived, I was startled to discover every one of their other grandchildren seated at the table. My husband knowing what was going on was the toughest part. “You have to admit,” he said to me, “that my parents did really make a lot of progress even though it took them a long time to warm up to Fred and Sara.” But this is a family function, and they required that only blood relations be there, which startled me.

As it happens, Fred and Sara are my children from a prior marriage. Because he loves me, my spouse has always treated them like they were his. They always wanted their son to raise his own children rather than weding me, a lady with “baggage,” as they termed it.

It was horrible what they did, and my kids are still treated like strangers. These are lovely, lovely children, and you shouldn’t treat them this way. However, since my husband failed to defend our family when he ought to have, I have been more enraged with him than with my in-laws. What to do next escapes me.

Yours, Nadine.