@doschicos : Very mature. You’re a better woman than I.
My Mother and my MIL are strangely jealous of me , which is crazy. Is it a female thing? I don’t get it. Ladies we need to stick together!
Yes @doschicos ! Married at 16, first child at 19. 3 kids by 24. Divorced first husband at 29, married her boss she was having affair. He was 17 years her senior and an alcoholic. He dies after 30 years of marriage, but their marriage was over 15 years prior. She’s retired, lives out of state and on DH number 4. I think she feels she’s missed out on a lot of life and sees the one I’ve built with DH…that makes her envious.
@1Tiger21 I’m jealous of men. They never seem to go after each other the way women do.
My former father-in-law played a significant role in the breakup of my marriage. I wouldn’t say he was jealous of me but he did get upset about the time my now ex-husband spent with me and our daughters while we were married. He believed that my ex-h’s first priority should be to be with his parents, not with his wife and children.
^^ That’s even weirder than my situation. Men in the family, for the most part, seem to not be the ones that instigate or get drawn into drama. I said generally.
I have known a few men who thrived on drama, but, generally speaking, men can have a disagreement with someone then go out with that same person and have a good time. It’s all just water under the bridge. Many women, on the other hand, seem to hold grudges for reasons known only to them.
My FIL was the chief grudge-holder in the family. Now that he’s gone, the two SILs are in charge of holding grudges. I just can’t work up much curiosity about what has offended either of them.
My MIL was very insecure and probably unhappy with how her life had turned out. She talked the talk, bought the t-shirts and buttons and bumper stickers, and was a vocal advocate for equal rights. But she dropped out of nursing school to get married to a man who was stubborn as a mule, and never really had much of a voice in her own marriage. She could make all decisions unless it was something he cared about, in which case he decided. She could live with it, but I had a college degree and my own career and certainly did not let DH walk all over me, and I think envious would be a good word for how she felt. I had the life she wanted. It was never very comfortable for either of us.