Greetings, Abby There is an issue between me and my daughter-in-law. She doesn’t seem to like me, but I know she loves me. As an illustration: I met her at my granddaughter’s dance recital yesterday, along with my son. She hardly looked up from her phone when I walked in and sat down beside them, but when another mother showed up, she sprang up and spoke for several minutes.This type of incident occurs frequently. She talks to me while we are by ourselves, but when there are other people about, it seems as though I am not even present. I don’t have any more grievances against her. My son loves her as a partner and mother. Shall I discuss this with her? How can I bring it up without provoking defensiveness from her? — CALGORNIA IGNORED
Stories by
Abigail Van Buren
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DEAR IGNORED: Your daughter-in-law is undoubtedly in love with you. She might, however, treat you like family because she feels so at ease around you; in other words, she may be taking you for granted.
Since she doesn’t see her peers as frequently as she does you, she becomes excited when she sees them because they might have new information to share. Appreciate your ability to communicate well when you are by yourself. I don’t believe that contacting her with this will result in anything good.
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