Ranj's Blog: In-laws just don't understand.

Say what I want

In-laws just don't understand.

Hey Ranj, My mother-in-law has two family pictures of my husband and his ex-wife hanging on their living room wall. We have been married for over four years and have a 3-year-old son. He is starting to look at the pictures. We would prefer that he not find out by looking at pictures that his father was married before. (There were no children from the previous marriage.)

I told my husband that I would like the photos to come down. He agrees, but his family doesn't deal well with "family drama." He still has not told his parents how I feel about the photos, and we are scheduled to visit them again next month. I trust your advice. -- NEED HELP IN CONN.

Hey NEED HELP, Call your in-laws and explain that your young son is old enough to notice that his father is with another woman in the photos -- but too young to understand about prior marriages. Tell them that he knows that the woman in the photo is not mommy. That's a good enough explanation to justify your request that the pictures be taken down -- at least when you're visiting. Also, bring new photos of your family to replace the old photos that your in-laws have hanging up.

Posted by Randall at 3/30/2009 10:28 AM