Here’s the back story: My boyfriend & I recently got engaged. Now I am 18, he is 21 and we’ve been dating for almost a year (we’ve known each other for about 2 ½ years). I can understand the viewpoint of “you’re too young” and “you haven’t known each other that long,” so in the interest of good family relations (and saving up enough money not to be on the dole), we’re waiting 2-3 years to tie the knot. We haven’t even thought about setting a date yet!
When he proposed to me, we were on a 2-week trip with his family, visiting out of town relatives. On our way through a certain state, we had arranged to stop by my grandparents’ house and they could meet my new fiancé (this was 2 days after he’d proposed). I’ve always been pretty close with this set of grandparents, visiting them yearly & occasional phone calls (they live in a different state), especially my gma.
Well we got there and after initial introductions I asked if we could show them around the property – my gparents have a large, beautiful property which I know my gpa is quite proud of. My gma declined & told us to go on without her. We did, and spent about an hour walking around & conversing with my gpa. There was no mention of the engagement at any time through out this, and when I had previously called and announced it, my gpa had said, “Congratulations,” a bit awkwardly. I had thought nothing of this, as he’d never met my fiancé and was not much of a talker.
When we got back to the house, we continued to make small talk, my fiancé & his dad with my gpa, and my FMIL & I with my gma. Since I hadn’t spoken with her personally about the engagement, I showed her my ring and said (quite excitedly), “Look, Grandma! Did you hear we’re engaged??” (Biiiig smile.)
Here’s the part that blew me away. She looked at me with a pained grimace and said, “Oh yes. Well, you’re not getting married for another ten years, RIGHT??” I said that it would be a few years, yes, but probably not a decade! She sighed and said, “Oh. Well I wish I could say congratulations, but I simply can’t! I wish you weren’t making such a big mistake with your life, but I guess I can’t stop you…” Asharah's comment: I am scraping my jaw off the floor right now!
I was absolutely speechless! Even my dad, who has a history of being overprotective, had simply wished me the best and told me that he’s proud of me! I was gathering my wits (and trying not to cry) when my amazing FMIL – bless her heart – quickly changed the subject to a less volatile one and got my gma off her tangent.
The kicker? When I got home, I cried to my Mom about what had happened. She called my gparents, who (instead of apologizing) gave her a list of complaints they had about our visit! She requested that I call and apologize to them immediately. Asharah's comment: For what? After some arguing, I did call and leave a message to the effect of “so sorry for the offense,” yes I know, not a real apology. Well, it seemed to work, because about a week later I got a card from gma apologizing for her rudeness.
So things are alright between us again, I guess, but I really just wanted to make a point here – even if you don’t personally approve of someone’s choice of marriage or mate, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep your manners in and at least WAIT til they’re gone to rant about it!!! 0920-09
When “foot-in-mouth” episodes like this occur, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that what is happening is that someone’s vision for how your life will be is suddenly changed to be something completely different. Grandma may have always dreamed of you going to college or having a career and WHAMMO! Reality isn’t going down the same path as her dreams. It’s a shock to the system and grandma hasn’t had time to absorb it all and change her perspective so she blurts out stupid comments. I know this because *I’ve* done it. My own mother did it upon hearing my engagement announcement.
The good news is that nearly always people eventually realign their hopes for your future to reflect the current reality and they come on board to support you. That grandma can apologize for her rudeness is a great sign that she will be rejoicing at your wedding several years from now so don’t hold it against her.
Asharah's comment: Sorry, but telling a newly engaged bride-to-be she is making a big mistake goes beyond saying something stupid before you think in my book. She did apoligize but I would still watch how she reacts in the future before I'd trust her not to be a problem during the wedding.
