WWYD?

At the party on Sunday, Hubba-hubba's father walked up to him, placed an envelope in his hand, and told him, "This is for you. You deserve it" and walked away.

Inside was a check for a not insubstantial amount of money.

We are thinking of giving it back.

You see, if we had an open and good relationship with his parents, I would only hesitate a bit to cash that check. It isn't like we can't use it, and if we felt it was given in a purely altruistic manner, I wouldn't be writing this post.

Hubba-hubba and I have had a rocky relationship with his parents from the beginning, and it wasn't necessarily all because of me. I certainly pointed out some salient facts, but Hubba-hubba is a big boy and makes his own decisions.

Therefore, we have had little contact with them since our marriage, and actually even less since the birth of Mr. P. About seven months ago, my MIL called me and said she wanted to see Mr. P and get to know him, and what could she do to help to build a better relationship with us.

Huh. Well, how do you tell someone, "Hey, just stop being a bitch and all will be fine?"

Anyhoo, Hubba-hubba's family has helped out every sibling of his. Except, they have never helped Hubba-hubba. As soon as they could, they charged him rent. They never helped to pay a cent of his college tuition or books. They never helped him to buy a car, and they never even gave him the money to help him go to his high school prom. They have neglected him for years, and done many things to help all the other members of the family. Have I mentioned all three of his brothers were/are addicts and have all been in jail? The favoritism has been rather blatant, noticed even by aunts and uncles.

So we are not sure that we want their guilt money. For some reason, it has suddenly dawned on his father that out of all of his sons, Hubba-hubba is the one who has gone the farthest, and without any help from anyone.

What would you do? Would you take it or give it back?

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