I was excited to share a part of myself with my husband’s family when I got married. If his parents asked us to come over for a family dinner, I brought a dish that was special to me because it was based on a recipe my late mother gave me. It seemed like a nice way to remember her and share a part of my family history with my new family.
When I put the dish on the table, though, my mother-in-law’s face turned cold. “Get your mother’s food out of my house!” she glared at me. I was shocked, hurt, and embarrassed all at the same time. There were tears in my eyes as I quickly got up from the table and left.
I tried to figure out what had happened while I waited in the car for more than an hour. When my husband finally came out, he didn’t know the pain he had just seen. It was strangely quiet on the way home until he suddenly laughed out loud and told a joke that his cousin had made at dinner.
The sensation that I was stuck between two families, two traditions, and two standards at that very moment. I learned that our deeds can be misunderstood or rejected sometimes, even when we mean well. But what really counts is how we handle those situations.
I tried not to cry as I looked out the window. I knew I had to find a way to get better and move on, even if it meant dealing with the complicated rules and practices of my family.
