The kids that my spouse had hated me. They have always been terrible to me and they always will be, but happily my spouse came to my defense. He gave them an important lesson, and in the end, they apologized and repaired our friendship.
Jack, my spouse, is the father of three children who are older than 21. When I met him two years after his wife died, he was inconsolable. He was fathered off at a young age and, tragically, a widower a few years later. He showed me his kids around a year after we first met, and we got along nothing at all.
Ten years my younger, I could see why they were concerned about my connection with their father. I’m 53 and he’s 43. We have been engaged for four years and have known one other for more than nine years. At no point in our relationship did his kids make me feel like I belonged.
I waited to move in with their family until after all of his children had left. I didn’t spend as much time with them once I moved in since they were off to college. Nevertheless, they made sure I felt like an outsider in their family by talking about their mother whenever we were together. I told them I wasn’t attempting to take the place of their mother, but nevertheless.
Jack’s kids started treating me disrespectfully even more after he proposed, but behind his back. I didn’t want them to fight, so I kept it from him. I knew that their family had already experienced a lot, particularly Jack, who had to raise his children by himself for many years.
Jack felt compelled to cover the void their mother had created. Therefore, even after his children moved out of the house, he continued to work twice as hard to give them a nice existence.
In any case, a few weeks ago was our wedding. His children declined to attend the little civil ceremony, citing other pressing obligations. We were fine with it because it was a minor incident. When it came to our Bahamas honeymoon, we made the decision to really go all out and spend more money.
All of his children showed up two days after we landed. “Daddy, you were sorely missed!” they said. I heard someone else say, “You thought you got rid of US, huh?!” in my ear. We were surprised to see them, but we nonetheless took them around our property and gave them a tour. I got them snacks in an attempt to be polite. Jack procured drinks for everyone in the interim.
I never imagined that they would spoil my honeymoon, but when one of his children said to me, “You, 58-year-old OLDIE! Do you still desire a storybook? For you, this home is too opulent. This one’s ours, and you can have that little cottage.
“Guys, please don’t ruin this for your father and me,” I said quietly to them. Just grant us this honeymoon, please, and don’t make a scene. I ask you to please.
“We’ll never provide you a taste of contentment. You certainly don’t deserve this opulent property, and you certainly don’t deserve our dad. Beat that, then,” one of them retorted.
Jack was furious and purple-faced as he stood a few steps away from the door when we heard the glass crash on the floor.
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He said, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” I had never heard a voice like that before; it was a voice so harsh that it startled his children into quiet.
“This is how you pay me back after I have given you everything and supported you financially? Being unkind to my wife? And no less on our honeymoon,” Jack cried out.
Jack interrupted them as they began to go on with excuses. “Enough already! I’m tired of your conceited actions. Do you really believe you can come here and make demands? Did you honestly believe that your actions toward my wife were unknown to me? I ignored it all, thinking that eventually you would all change. This is now over.
He took out his phone and dialed someone. Security for the estate showed up in a matter of minutes. “Lead them outside.” They are not welcome here any more,” he said.
His children followed the security guards out, their expressions a mixture of embarrassment and amazement. Jack resisted their objections. “You’ll never again treat my wife and I disrespectfully. He went on, “Consider this your wake-up call and your lesson in respect,” and then he threatened to cancel all of their credit cards.
Jack did not waste any time. He phoned the bank right away and stopped providing for them financially, making them learn how to stand on their own for the first time. He made it very evident that their actions had repercussions and that they needed to develop self-control and respect.
The ensuing few months were difficult. They used their credit cards as a means of enjoyment for a long time. Without it, they had difficulty, but in time, they began to see the need of respect and diligence.
We got a call one evening from all his kids. With sincere regret in their voices, they all said, “Dad, I’m sorry.” “We were in error. Can we restart now?
Jack gave me a teary-eyed expression. “Obviously,” he said, his voice quivering. “There’s always next time.”
They consequently restored their connection gradually but steadily. In addition to safeguarding our precious time together, Jack’s resolute actions on our honeymoon left his kids with a message they would never forget. Though the voyage was difficult at times, it ultimately strengthened our bonds as a group.
Not just Jack’s children took away a lesson from the wedding. The mother of the bride also learned a vital lesson following her daughter’s marriage.