Dear Judy,
My mother died in childbirth — mine. That was 43 years ago. My father remarried; his second wife was a wonderful mother to me. I was lucky. Their two sons — my half-brothers — are terrific.
Unfortunately at some point, maybe during a seriously bad patch of my rough adolescence, someone cracked a joke about my origins of life, as it were.
Like, “Don’t get on Ellie’s bad side, she’s a killer.”
At the time, I thought that was pretty funny. Anyway, it used to get me out of some of my awful moods. Now, with two kids of my own entering adolescence, I don’t think it’s funny at all. At family gathering’s, they’re still likely to hear, “You know your Mom’s a real killer.”
What do I do?
Ellie (don’t reveal my city; everyone will know it’s me)
Dear Ellie,
What do you do? Tell them to stop.
Thank you for writing,
Judy
If its her two half brothers, that should be easy to fix by telling them to stop, as you suggest. If it goes out beyond to the rest of the family, she should tall her two-half brothers to tell other family members to stop. It’s in bad taste, and simply crass.
Frank
Your adolescent kids should know the circumstances of your birth. Always — in my opinion..
I don’t happen to think this person’s issues are funny. On the other hand, if she’s been bothered by them for almost 30 years, they need resolving. Professionally. Quick.