My mother-in-law is driving me absolutely crazy. She is continuing to tell me it is okay to come to town when >>>I have a major major back problem, >>>Geraldine is having a gallbladder attack and >>>my house is completely upside-down from a flood and so she thinks it is plausible that she and her two daughters can come to town to help, even after I plead they do not.

>>> "I just got a letter from her and I refuse to read it to the finish."

Who really needs to spend ten minutes devouring the musings of a pity pot? This woman remembers everything that has gone wrong in her life, how she arrived expediently on the scene to straighten everyone out, according to her beliefs and must, ALWAYS MUST, noooooo, NEEDS TO, for the betterment of mankind, prevail upon others that she has wisdom far beyond anything we will ever have in life. She is here on bended knee to our God above and, even better, her divine spirit has a direct line to God. Therefore she is answering God's calling by showing up when she is told she isn't wanted.

In others words, "Give up lame daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law is right and you are sadly wrong, once again."

NO THANKS AND WHAT ABOUT All OF THIS DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I WANT to be alone when I have to deal with everything and I don't appreciate your trying to override my objections.

Get a grip all of you women, the mothers of our dear husbands, some of us don't want guests when we are overwhelmed and especially don't appreciate these pressures from in-laws who think they can prevail over our wishes and thereby make the impossible happen. That is, of course, the happy ending due to your uninvited presence, just by your mere mystical appearance, over the top of our objections, trying to obliterate our feelings and driving a wedge between us and our sweetums if you don't get your way.

Don't you know guests are WORK? Give me my peace when I ask for it!!!

Get a CLUE, not everyone wants extra persons around when life is jumping here and there. STAY AWAY. What part of that don't you all understand?

Take it or leave it. This is the daughter-in-law's home and she is trying to give it everything she can to make it work. When we want your help, we'll let you know.

Otherwise we just want to generate our own energy and make things happen in a nice smooth way like we always have and we don't need your extra help unless we ask for it. So don't try and pressure us with amazing efforts from family who are not exactly in our rhythm or a part of our neighborhood. More importantly, don't think the same about much of anything.

Let us be and that's that. You don't get to override our wishes.

Until then, we really don't care about your circumstances. That airplane ticket is good for a year, so take a rain check and accept that you are not needed for this particular crisis, well for any other either, "OH please!"

We have to deal with my own feelings and get things right here purring once again and until then we don't need your extra help. When things are right we'll let everyone know but until then please respect that this is our house and not the town hall.

Find your place and accept it. And stop sending us these lectures about how you have certain privileges that you don't. This is our home and we choose who are our guests, when we want guests and not a minute sooner. We'll invite everyone as time and circumstances allow but these invitations won't be because some person in our nest thinks they have the right to see us, when they please, for whatever riveting reason and no matter what our circumstances are in life.

Sorry to sound so cross, to all of you mother-in-laws, but I must.

Your Dutiful Daughter-in-Law