Moms have to put up with a lot of crap . Our society at large seems hell-bent on telling them what to do, where to do it, for how little or how long, etc.
A mother’s home, therefore, becomes her sanctuary . But sadly, one mother’s refuge was recently battered to bits after her own mother-in-law viciously shamed her for not losing weight fast enough.
RELATED STORIES
Despite what you might have heard. pregnancy isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
A woman devotes her mind, body, and spirit to growing a human being inside of her for nine months. After she gives birth, it’s important that she feel loved, safe, and above all else — supported.
Yet for some reason, our society has a hard time giving mothers what they need.
Instead of nurturing support, most mothers are subjected to mom-shaming: a nonstop barrage of hurtful comments slung mostly by other women claiming to know better. Mothers get shamed for everything: from how long they breastfeed to how much weight they gain.
Recently, a new mom and Mumsnet.com user (username: Anoart1) posted a story detailing a toxic interaction with her mother-in-law.
“Really down at the moment,” Anoart1 said . “Mixture of things but most recent: MIL commented that as I’m so fat now (I’m size 12) I should give her my really nice dresses as I will never fit into them again.”
Apparently, Anoart1’s mother-in-law wanted to give the dresses to her own daughter.
Anoart1 explained that her sister-in-law is actually older than she is, and more than financially capable to be able to afford her own dresses. She then told her mother-in-law that she wanted to keep the dresses, as she still planned to lose weight.
“No you won’t,” came the mother-in-law’s reply. “DC is nearly 2 years old now and you[sic] still fat.”
Anoart1 felt extremely hurt by her mother-in-law’s insensitive comment. She couldn’t believe that her own family was attacking her on such a deeply personal level. When all was said and done, she went to her husband to tell him the news.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get much more support at home.
“I was really upset and spoke to DH (Dear Husband) whose response was well she’s right and no point keeping clothes you can’t wear anymore,” she said .
Not exactly the kind of supportive loving statement you’d hope to hear from your husband, is it?
Not wanting to air dirty laundry, but many of the dresses in question were given to Anoart1 on her wedding day.
By her mother-in-law no less! Anoart1 also said that this was done out of tradition, not the kindness of her mother-in-law’s heart. In all her years, she’s never once heard of a mother-in-law asking for a wedding gift back.
Anoart1 tried to talk to her sisters but all they did was laugh.
Add to that an unsupportive husband at home, and Anoart1 was left wondering what to do and who to talk to? So she did what most like-minded people do in similar situations — she turned to the internet.
“They are my clothes after all and I feel weird giving them away as MIL has decided I will never fit into them,” Anoart1 said.
Anoart1 opened the floor to her fellow Mumsnet.com users and asked whether or not she was in the wrong for wanting to keep the dresses that were given to her on her wedding day. Overwhelmingly, people empathized with her situation.
“I’d rather donate then to charity thank give them back. I’d also not be speaking to the rude old cow for a while,” one user wrote.
“It never ceases to amaze me what people think they can comment on, how incredibly rude and bad mannered[sic] not to mention grabby,” wrote another .
One user even joked that Anoart1 should divorce her husband and be done with both he and his mother altogether.
Considering the kind of emotional support that her husband seems prepared to offer, it doesn’t sound like a half-bad idea. If it were me, I’d probably film myself lighting the dresses on fire, then e-mail it to the mother-in-law. It’s not very productive, but then again — petty revenge seldom is.
