Mark and I struggled to make ends meet, yet, we managed to stretch our budget and give our son the best Thanksgiving he’s ever had. I worked my magic in the kitchen and prepared all of his favorite dishes. Of course, at the center of the table was the perfectly roasted turkey, mashed-potatoes, my special cranberry sauce and my son’s all-time favorite pumpkin pie.
This Thanksgiving, I wanted everything to be perfect because my mom was coming over, and she is the type of person who can’t be easily satisfied. She always complains about things, believing they could be done better.
The warmth of the holiday filled our modest home. I couldn’t wait my son, Ethan, to compliment my cooking as always.
However, when dinner time arrived, Ethan refused to eat, which wasn’t usual for him. No matter how much my husband Mark and I insisted, he said he wasn’t hungry each time. What’s most, he even refused dessert. This was a red flag. I could sense something was not right, but since my mother was there and her presence wasn’t the most pleasant, I didn’t push Ethan to share what was wrong.
Once dinner was over and my mom left, I went straight to Ethan’s room.
“What’s wrong honey,” I asked, noticing that he was struggling to hide his tears.
“Mom, grandma told me the truth about you,” he said questly.
“The truth? What truth?” I asked, confused.
“She told me you and dad are losers, and that’s why we don’t have a real Thanksgiving dinner.”
At that moment, my world started spinning. I knew my mom was hard at times, but I never believed she could turn my son against me.
“Mom, grandma also told me that dad is lazy and that’s why he can’t provide for us, and that you don’t take real care of me.”
I had it enough.
“Ethan, your dad and I love you unconditionally. Things may be hard sometimes, but we do our best to provide a beautiful life for you. And your grandma… well, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about at times.”
Ethan felt relieved. He gave me a hug and told me he was hungry. I was happy to reheat everything for him, including the mac and cheese my mom said I shouldn’t have put on the table on Thanksgiving although she knew it was Ethan’s favorite.
I shared everything with Mark and we decided to confront my mother.
The following morning I called her and asked her to stop by.
When she appeared at the door a couple of hours later, acting superior as always, she yelled, “What do you need me for, I was here last night and I don’t want your leftovers.”
“Mom,” I said, “How could you tell an 8-year-old child that his parents are losers?”
Looking at me with an angry face, she answered, “That’s because you are, and I was just being honest. You need to provide more for that child.”
Mark interrupted, shouting, “How is that honesty?” But my mother remained unmoved by our words.
Ignoring him, she turned to me and said, “Things would be different if you married the man I suggested.”
These words were the last straw. “Leave, get out of my house, and don’t ever come back,” I told my mother, no matter how hard it was for me to utter those words.
“What? You can’t do that!” she said. But Mark assured her we could. We didn’t want her to be part of our lives any longer, not until she learned to show us respect.
She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the house.
Honestly, I doubt that my mom will ever make her way back into our lives, but so far, she hasn’t even tried.
While baking Christmas cookies with Ethan, he turned to me and said, “Mom, I think our family is the best.” Hearing those words, I no longer doubted my decision to cut my mom out of my life. She was exactly where she deserved to be.
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Love and Peace