Ask Amy: Daughter-in-law has had it with the baby talk
I want to stop dreading spending time with her and feeling stressed waiting for the next round of high-pitched baby-nonsense to start. Please help!
-- Annoyed
Dear Annoyed: You say that you can't hold your mother-in-law's verbal tics against her, so ... don't. Just don't.
Much of what you report comes off as very unkind. I'm going to assume that you are suffering from a short-term form of annoyance-onset psychosis.
This kind woman is your children's beloved grandmother. She cannot control her accent or her stutter. Her "goo goo gooshing" and baby talk are annoying to you, but she is really singing an ancient song -- this is a song of human connection, passed from elders to babies since the dawn of time. She is also passing along part of her (and your kids') heritage.
When the kids are older, they may say to her, "Babushka, I'm a big kid now. Don't talk to me like I'm a baby, because I'm big."
All the same, I totally understand how aurally annoying this would be to grown-up ears.
When it gets to you, excuse yourself and go into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Take deep breaths while the water is boiling. Unleash your silent rant. And then congratulate yourself for being patient.
Dear Amy: I have an out-of-town guest visiting for a few weeks, both for work and relaxation.
It was an unplanned visit and she has been very accommodating to scheduled activities I had prior to her arrival. We have a lot of fun together and I'm including her in as many activities as possible.
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