Brother- and Sister-In-Law For Sale, CHEAP

Actually, I will PAY you to take them away.

I forwarded my friends an email that I got the other day that had photos of marbles and other ball shapes showing the relative size of the Earth to other planets in our galaxy, our galaxy's planets to our sun, our sun to other suns, and our universe to other universes. The photos were really cool, and Josie loved them. So, I forwarded the email on.

The email had some writing down at the bottom about how now that you've seen these images, how big are your problems in relation, and there was some tagline at the bottom about how big is your God, because it came from a guy on the choir. I didn't really think twice about forwarding it on to people, because it was cool, and all the people in the family have been involved at one time or another with NASA or a similar government agency.

Today, I got an email from my BIL and SIL, Kathy and Shawn, in response. I thought, oh, cool, we never hear from them (as I have said before about them). yeah. No.

It started with that we are stupid for believing anything of the sort, that we are sheep who do not think rationally. Two screens later, after similar comments, it ended with this:

"BTW - If this offends you, that's unfortunate. I've often found when people discuss religion, the more they're interested in relating their views, the less interested they are in hearing someone else's.

If you want to keep in touch, we're game and I won't judge. I don't have to understand your beliefs any more than you need to understand mine. It's up to you if you can deal with that. We're fine either way.

Have a nice day.

Shawn & Kathy (yes, we both read it before sending it.)"


These are the people that I made those carseat covers for. The ones who never show up at family events, but always expect people to come to theirs. I responded by asking if that's what they really meant, that they would be fine with not talking again over an EMAIL, and if after twelve years, that's what they really thought of me and our family.

I have gotten no response.

I know they are looking for somewhere to dump whatever anger they feel over their loss of Ryan, and I was a convenient place to do so, since I sent them an email, but a simple 'we don't like forwards' would have sufficed. Ranting about how we're stupid and can take them or leave them, and then telling me to have a nice day, was grossly inappropriate. It tells me that all they have inside is anger and hatred, and that I need to adjust my expectations accordingly. The way Shawn snapped at our kids the last time we saw them, and his angry outbursts at other times as well, and now this, point to the fact that he is not someone I feel like having around me or my children. It's not like they acknowledge our family birthdays or anniversaries, anyway.

If they do not write back and give some reason, some apology, I will never have anything to do with them again. I know they are family, and I have tried all these years to maintain a relationship with them, but this is, seriously, IT. All I did was send them photos, for chrissakes, and I even said at the top of the forward that the email was great pictures. ARGH. We have never, ever discussed anything to do with religion with them, not even once. We don't talk about it outside church, unless we're with other people that go there. For the sake of my MIL, I will suck it up at holidays, should they ever decide to attend, but that's it. I'm done. There's no point in me continually putting forth efforts when the one time they send me an email longer than two words, it's this.