Dear Blake,
I finally made the decision to further my education with a master’s degree. At present, I have one more required undergraduate credit to complete at the local university. My husband and I are excited that I finally made the decision and am following through. The problem is, my mother-in-law. She has told everyone I have been accepted into the master’s program at a prestigious school in my area — one I am hoping to get into. We recently threw a surprise party for his mother and everyone was congratulating me. I was embarrassed and had to correct them, saying that was my hope, but I haven’t yet applied. I have asked her to please stop, but it continues. I’m incredibly nervous that if I don’t get in, I’ll look like a failure. Your thoughts?
Signed, Marilyn
From San Francisco, California
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Dear Marilyn,
I am happy to hear that you are pursuing your dream. But I’m sad to see that your mother-in-law may be setting you up to feed her insatiable desire to humiliate you. That old bat probably has a variety of motives for her behavior, and all of them are sinister. It’s possible that she wants you to be rejected by the college, to bolster her opinion to her son that he deserves someone who is not the failing laughing stock of the neighborhood. Since finances are the number one reason for divorce, maybe she wants you to continue your education burdening your household with student loans, so he’ll leave you rather than continue paying a debt long after you two eventually move into a nursing home. Your mother-in-law might have a connection to the “prestigious school” that owes her a favor, and will turn down your application, alleging they have heard rumors that you support terrorist organizations overseas, and locally you enjoy strangling puppies. And finally, you should be very suspicious if she is supportive of you going back to school. Because it could be she wants you to spend as much time away from home studying books, so she can introduce her son to some women that she feel is more compatible, or maybe men since you’re writing from San Francisco. I hope this helps.
Blake