My Husband’s Family Excluded Me from All Pictures and Gatherings — Little Did They Know What It Would Lead To

But the excuses kept piling up.

They took a cabin trip in October. I found out when Jason posted a picture with Ivy and her husband around a bonfire.

When I confronted him, he said, “It was Ivy’s thing. She said it was just siblings.

I didn’t know until we got there.”

“They couldn’t have texted me? I like camping. I would’ve come.”

“They didn’t think you’d want to freeze your butt off for two days.”

“I like fishing in the cold, Jason.”

“I know.”

I smiled through birthdays where I wasn’t invited, holidays where I was “too busy,” and family photo albums where I didn’t exist.

Then everything shifted.

My grandmother passed.

She was the only blood family member I was close to. Losing her shattered me.

She was the type who never missed a phone call, who mailed me newspaper clippings with little notes like, “This made me think of you,” in cursive.Continue reading…