Or, more accurately, how to continually ignore my mother-in-law and her constant spewing of every inaccurate, unresearched, outright fiction about anything she is told is 'liberal'?
I'm trying really hard to say something nice about my husband's mother. Seriously. I started out by typing that she's a good person, then changed it to not a bad person. Then just deleted it entirely. To be honest, she's not even very good to her own family, much less anyone else on earth. None of that is either new or surprising.
I got married with my eyes open and had been declining to go to some family functions with the in-laws for several years before we ever tied the knot. The frequency of those functions hasn't actually changed, but we're coming up to Thanksgiving and I'll be trapped in a house with them for seemingly decades. The rhetoric never changes. It's not so much the crap that comes out of her mouth, but the complete lack of even internal consistency that truly makes me crazy.
The rest of my husband's family are also extremely "conservative" republicans, but they have the good grace to not inflict it on me now that I've asked them not to several times.
I've occasionally gotten pissed off enough to actually try and talk to her about some of the batshit insane stuff that she's said, and it usually just ends up with her not talking to me for a few months. It's quite nice while it lasts, but I really need to find a way to not get involved at all. The problem is I can't NOT hear it. I know there is absolutely nothing I can say to make a difference (I've tried and failed), and the problem is now with me.
There comes a point where I just can't stand it anymore. When that happens all of the stops seem to come out and I make sure to let her know exactly how she's contradicting herself, ignorant, and downright stupid. This doesn't make for happy family gatherings and I want to find a way to not go there. Anyone have any clues for a way to cope without completely losing my mind?
Thu Nov 24, 2011 at 10:22 AM PT: It turns out the best way not to deal with any of the crap from my mother-in-law is to come down with a truly awful cold and stay home. Much as I'd rather not be physically miserable, at least I don't have to listen to her all day. My poor husband does, though. He'll be heading there without me.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. Mine will actually be better than I had thought.