Nothing Would Surprise Me from You.

These words do not have to be nasty, they can actually be quite nice. By the same token, nothing can hurt you more.

I heard this statement of nothing, yet everything, from a family member. A family memeber who I am supposed to always be able to count on for love and support.

These words were not spoken to me in a nice and complimentary manner but, in fact, in a very rude and demeaning manner. There was absolutely no love and support to be found in this hurtful verbiage.

It began with our return home from the most difficult trip that we have ever experienced. I was really looking forward to taking care of myself so that I could get rid of my cold. Decompression time was definitely needed. I definitely did not rest, I did not get over my cold and I definitely felt pressure.

My husband was looking forward to enjoying his family. However, as a consequence of these people, he felt the need to apologize for the behavior of people that he has no control over.

It would seem from what I am writing here that the problem was all with one person but it was, in fact, with two people. It would seem that it all began upon our return home but, in fact, began prior to that.

This “nothing” issue continued on this particular day with the receipt of a most upsetting letter.

However, even before that I saw a box and this box was opened. This box should not have been opened as it was my private property. I gave no one permission to open it and, therefore, it should have still been sealed. Alas, this was not the case. Furthermore, while the contents found inside were far from dramatic, the reaction of the person that opened it were quite dramatic.

Drama in the form of nasty, uncalled for words to speak to a point that there is clearly no desire to understand or support.

Inside this box was a letter from the same person. To say I understood the reasoning behind this letter would be a blatant lie. I cannot understand it because to do so would mean that I understand the person. I do not understand the person because they are so very different from who I once thought they were.

This concerns me. I loved these people very much and thought that I could count on them. However, after so much hurt, uncalled for words, and terrible behavior I feel very differently.

I read and reread this letter and spoke to the author for almost two hours.  I confronted the issue brought up in this letter and was told to read between the lines. Why should I have to read between the lines?

If you have something to say to me, nasty or otherwise, than just say it.

If you cannot handle speaking to me then write a letter but do not make me read between the lines. Say what you mean. Unless, of course, my husband is right. Perhaps that person telling me to read between the lines was just something to utter because the author had nothing else better to add.

I have spoken to this person after receiving the letter. Before I did that I wrote a letter back. I wrote it three times until it said exactly what I wanted it to say. Then I threw it away. It was not appropriate to send. It would have solved nothing.

This was an issue that needed to be confronted head on.

Unfortunately, this decision may also have been a mistake. There was a nasty fight full of nasty words. There was a great deal of yelling on both sides of the phone.

During the time surrounding around my father-in-laws death, many people did everything that I would have expected them to. Many went above and beyond that.

My boys did absolutely everything that was expected of them. They were fabulous.

Then there were these two other people that hurt me greatly during this difficult time. One was willing to confront the issue and the other hung up the phone