She was tired of her mother-in-law filling her children up with candy, so she wrote her a letter, but her last words were unexpected!
Among the many "battles" that parents have to sustain to raise their children as they would like, there are those they have with grandparents.
In fact, it often happens that grandparents are the ones who "spoil" their grandchildren, even going against the rules that the parents would like for them to follow and reinforce.
In this particular case, a mother was tired of seeing all the candy that her mother-in-law was still giving to her children when she had been clear with her about the need to stop.
Her letter to her mother-in-law begins as a strong and liberating outburst ... but the epilogue is not exactly what we expect.
via faithit.com
You have always gone against me. You have always given them everything they wanted. You have never said no to any of their requests.
A second serving of dessert, candy before meals, another two minutes in the bathtub, money for ice cream.
How much effort I made to try to appreciate you and respect you while seeking to reassure myself that you were not spoiling my children. I feared you would turn them into "selfish kids" by giving them everything they wanted. I feared that they would never learn to wait for their turn, to share with others, because you always fulfilled their wishes as soon as they opened their mouths.
I have always been upset when you bought them the most expensive toys for Christmas or their birthday. How do you think one feels knowing that your children will never jump for joy like that for a gift from their own parents?
And my goodness! How they loved to spend the afternoon with you. You prepared their favorite dishes -- three different dishes for three children! And you always had a surprise for them. Candy, a game, or something else. I didn't want them to only associate you with gifts and sweets. They had to love you for what you were. I tried to tell you, but you never listened to me.
I just didn't know how to get out of this situation, because it is normal for grandparents to spoil their grandchildren, but you were really exaggerated.
Until you left us.
I had to tell my kids that their grandmother was dead. It seemed impossible. You had to be there in all the best moments: at a school dance, at graduation, at weddings. And instead, they lost their grandmother too soon and without warning. They weren't ready to say goodbye.
All that time I had spent wishing that you would stop spoiling them, I never thought about how much you loved them and how you were looking for every way to make them understand that. With lunches. With your gifts. With candies and sweets. With toys. Your grandmother's love knew no bounds. You have shown it in every way, with cooking, your pocketbook, your words, and your tireless arms.
I was wrong to consider your generosity negatively. My children now, as teenagers, miss you tremendously. And they don't miss your gifts or your money. They miss you. They miss being able to play at your house and hug you before you know it. They miss listening to your wise words, encouragement, and love.
Come back and love them once again, in the way that only grandmothers know how to do and nobody else. Bring them sweets and surprises. Reward them with candies for small victories. Carefully prepare their favorite dishes. Take them wherever they want to go. All because and only because you love them.
Oh, how I wish with all my heart that you could come back. But the more I want you to come back, the more I realize that you have never left.
I know you can never come back, but also that your love for them will never leave them. Your love raised them and protected them in ways that cannot be described. Your love is what they are made of and what they will become as they grow up and become adults.
For all this, for every gift, for every time you kept them too long or that you let them get up late, I will thank you forever.
