Wife struggles to recover from infidelity
I have made multiple attempts with words and in writing to express our gratitude for their time and also to explain we try our best to make things equal, but the pressure keeps building.
What's your advice? -- Frazzled Parents
DEAR FRAZZLED: Stop. Stop letting these grandparents run you. Stop bending over backward to cut their grandchild sandwiches in equal and identical squares. Your behavior only emboldens them.
In addition to the impact on you, think about your three children -- no doubt they are subjected to extensive debriefing sessions from each set of grandparents about what the others are doing.
So stop.
Your answer to all of this should be, "We are in charge of these children. We will make decisions concerning them. If you don't like it -- well, what can I say? Life isn't fair."
DEAR AMY: The letter from "A Sad, Scared Mother" hit me like a shot. This very young mom was staying with an abusive alcoholic. I hope she figures out how to protect her child's future, by leaving. That's what I had to do. -- Been There
DEAR BEEN THERE: Many people have responded with compassion. Thank you.
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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@tribpub.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)
