"My mother tried desperately to keep in contact, but the kids only cared about cashing the checks she sent. They never responded to emails, texts, or calls. The excuse that they were "just kids" and dealing with the divorce wore out when my mother developed pneumonia three years ago and was in the intensive care unit. My brother and I left the kids messages begging them to just leave a brief voice mail telling their grandmother that they loved her. None of them did, and that was the last straw for me."
"I have to be a bit blunt here: It's not your place to get your brother to stop trying to make amends with his own kids-nor do you get to dictate the relationship your mother chooses to have with them. While your brother's children were not kids when the divorce happened, people in their late teens and early 20s are still young enough to really feel the effects of divorce, especially when it is the result of infidelity. Not only do children in this age ran"
A sibling reports that their brother's children cut off contact after a divorce involving infidelity, causing deep pain for their elderly mother. The grandchildren ignored calls and only cashed checks, and none left a voicemail when the grandmother was in intensive care. The sibling removed the grandchildren from contact and now houses the mother. The brother, improving his finances, seeks to reconcile and bring the children around, but the sibling fears repeating the emotional strain. The response emphasizes that one cannot dictate another's attempts to mend relationships, that the mother has autonomy, and that firm household boundaries are appropriate to protect wellbeing.
Read at Slate Magazine
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