A]
I am in my seventh month of pregnancy, but because of my husband’s attitude I feel as If I have been carrying this baby for a year. He has shot off his big mouth to everyone who will listen that if I don’t have a boy he will leave us both in the hospital. Everyone laughs it off, and so do I, but it really does hurt. If I have a girl, I will feel as if I failed him. To make matters worse, his two brothers’ wives have had three girls apiece, and they say they are “through”. I am afraid my in-laws are counting on me to have a son, although they have been gracious enough to say it doesn’t matter.
[B]
My parents and I have a poor relationship. They’ve seen my 5-month-old three times. I have an older sister and two brothers. We all live in the same city. The favoritism shown to our brothers has caused my sister and me a lot of pain. This has been going on for as long as we can remember. In our last phone conversation, I came right out and told my mother that I still hurt from the emotional abuse I have suffered since early childhood, and that her favoritism towards “the boys” is very painful. I asked, point blank, why she did this to my sister and me. There was no answer.
The reason I felt compelled to be so blunt was because I had had a serious illness several weeks before and my parents had not bothered to visit me in the hospital or send a card. I was crushed but this ultimate rejection.
Can it be that some parents just don’t want daughters? My sister is a wonderful person and everyone loves her. It has taken me a long time to see that I, too, am lovable and have many friends.
I have two precious daughters and it boggles my mind that parents would not value their granddaughters.
