| Biographical Non-Fiction posted June 29, 2023 | Chapters: |
...3 4 -5- 6... 
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The best advice anyone ever gave me was
A chapter in the book A Paper Time Capsule
Letter 5
by barbara.wilkey
| Background I'm sharing stories with my granddaughters, now ages three and five as keepsake collection when they're older. |
Dear Charlotte and Eleanor,
Early in my marriage, my mother-in-law insulted me often and it hurt. Eventually, I didn't want to visit her or want her to visit us.
An example: For birthdays she always made a homemade yellow cake with white frosting. I asked if she would share the recipe so I could make it for your grandpa's upcoming birthday.
She answered, "I'll give it to you, but don't even try. You'll never be able to make it. You're not a true Wilkey."
Then the thought hit me, Wait a minute! I'm just as much of a Wilkey as she is. She married into the family too. I didn't say anything, I just walked away hurt. At that time in my life, I wasn't confident enough to stand up for myself.
I knew we couldn't continue like this. We were family. I shared incidents like this with a close girlfriend. After much talking and crying, my friend said, "Barbara, consider the source and go on with your life. It's not worth getting upset over."
It took practice and repeating, 'consider the source and go on with your life', but I took that advice and my relationship with my mother-in-law greatly improved. Over time, we became good friends.
I have used this advice over and over again throughout my life. It does work because life is way too short to allow things to upset you.
As I aged, I also grew with confidence in myself.
Lessons learned:
* consider the source and go on with your life
* be confident in who you are
Early in my marriage, my mother-in-law insulted me often and it hurt. Eventually, I didn't want to visit her or want her to visit us.
An example: For birthdays she always made a homemade yellow cake with white frosting. I asked if she would share the recipe so I could make it for your grandpa's upcoming birthday.
She answered, "I'll give it to you, but don't even try. You'll never be able to make it. You're not a true Wilkey."
Then the thought hit me, Wait a minute! I'm just as much of a Wilkey as she is. She married into the family too. I didn't say anything, I just walked away hurt. At that time in my life, I wasn't confident enough to stand up for myself.
I knew we couldn't continue like this. We were family. I shared incidents like this with a close girlfriend. After much talking and crying, my friend said, "Barbara, consider the source and go on with your life. It's not worth getting upset over."
It took practice and repeating, 'consider the source and go on with your life', but I took that advice and my relationship with my mother-in-law greatly improved. Over time, we became good friends.
I have used this advice over and over again throughout my life. It does work because life is way too short to allow things to upset you.
As I aged, I also grew with confidence in myself.
Lessons learned:
* consider the source and go on with your life
* be confident in who you are
 Recognized |
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Thank you google a poster on mother-in-law relationships. Honestly, my mother-in-law, after a while, did get along beautifully. It took me realizing, her comments were just who she was. She began to trust me enough to confide with me about what was really going on in her life. It all began to make sense. I prayed for her often. She died a very unhappy lady 24 years ago.
As I edited this post this week, deleted as many words as possible. I am attempting to stick to the suggested writing prompt and number of words. I've decided to add additional letters where I can go into more details. I'll finish the writing prompt first and then go into more depth and post those letters too.
Thank you for your support and suggestions.
Next weeks prompt: I'm curious to see how you
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. As I edited this post this week, deleted as many words as possible. I am attempting to stick to the suggested writing prompt and number of words. I've decided to add additional letters where I can go into more details. I'll finish the writing prompt first and then go into more depth and post those letters too.
Thank you for your support and suggestions.
Next weeks prompt: I'm curious to see how you
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