Rust? What’s rust got to do with the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship? Possibly more than you might think.
Occasionally I surf the web, looking for suggestions, recommendations, advice – pearls of wisdom – on how to promote good in-law relations. If you’ve done the same, you’ve probably discovered that there’s not much out there. It’s way too “in vogue” – acceptable – to make snide comments about your MIL at which everyone will laugh. Did you ever notice that there are some groups of people who are fair game for public insult and degradation? Mothers-in-law seem to be among these.
Here in America, our communal dysfunction is on display for the whole world to enjoy. Grown women post on Facebook, log onto blog sites, text and phone and appear on television to denigrate those grafted into their families by marriage. What a novel idea for promoting family bonding! What an inventive method for communicating to our sons or husband that we really, really love them! It makes everyone’s holidays that much more enjoyable, doesn’t it?
Wrong. Bad idea.
Rudeness, criticism, lack of consideration and mockery are the language of the immature, the ignorant, the self-centered and those starving for the approval of others.
Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches. – Milan Kundera
All it touches. Everything and everyone.
Do these words seem harsh to you?
And neglect? A passive approach which causes rust – verb: To deteriorate or degenerate through inactivity or neglect