I hope this is a good place to post this. It does have to do with decluttering, although it also involves lots of fun, psychological issues. Whoopie!! 
Over ten years ago, when I first married DH, MIL “surprised” me with an unwelcome wedding gift—a large, six-seater colonial/country-style dining room table. She had obviously spent a lot of money on it, just as she spent a lot of money trying to decorate our place to her standards (e.g. fake flowers, wall hangings that she liked, you get the picture).
Being the young, blushing bride, I did not speak up and tell her the truth—namely, that the table was totally not my style! (I tend toward a much more contemporary look). Sure, she should have consulted with me and taken my own tastes under consideration. And sure, I should have been tactful and honest with her. But we’re well past the “would’ve-could’ve-should’ve phase.” My question is . . . what do I do now???
Over the years, I have gradually decluttered some of the smaller things, such as the wall hangings. (“Oh that? Hmmmm. I’m not sure. I think we lost it in the move
) But it’s kind of hard to come up with a white lie about this particular monstrosity.
MIL lives out of town but visits frequently. Except for the table, everything else is (finally!!) to my tastes
. But she will comment on the table’s absense, and people-pleasing me (I know, I know 
) feels a twinge of guilt when I ponder how much she must have spent on it. And DH is adamant about avoiding a “confrontation” about it.
The way I see it, I have these options:
1. Another white lie. Although it’s kind of hard to come up with one for this monstrosity. (“Oops! Did I lose that in the move too?) It's not like she's stupid. I'm sure she's caught on to her stuff "disappearing" over the years...
2. Something “tragic” happens to ruin the table—although the Monstrosity is quite durable; I can’t think of anything that a professional restoration service couldn’t take care of.
3. The obvious solution: Get rid of it, replace it, and tell the truth. But since I’m short on eloquence, do you have any idea on how I should phrase it?
I’d welcome other ideas, too. What do you think? WWYD???
It doesn’t help that was at World Market today drooling over their dining room tables!
Over ten years ago, when I first married DH, MIL “surprised” me with an unwelcome wedding gift—a large, six-seater colonial/country-style dining room table. She had obviously spent a lot of money on it, just as she spent a lot of money trying to decorate our place to her standards (e.g. fake flowers, wall hangings that she liked, you get the picture).
Being the young, blushing bride, I did not speak up and tell her the truth—namely, that the table was totally not my style! (I tend toward a much more contemporary look). Sure, she should have consulted with me and taken my own tastes under consideration. And sure, I should have been tactful and honest with her. But we’re well past the “would’ve-could’ve-should’ve phase.” My question is . . . what do I do now???
Over the years, I have gradually decluttered some of the smaller things, such as the wall hangings. (“Oh that? Hmmmm. I’m not sure. I think we lost it in the move
) But it’s kind of hard to come up with a white lie about this particular monstrosity.MIL lives out of town but visits frequently. Except for the table, everything else is (finally!!) to my tastes
. But she will comment on the table’s absense, and people-pleasing me (I know, I know ) feels a twinge of guilt when I ponder how much she must have spent on it. And DH is adamant about avoiding a “confrontation” about it.The way I see it, I have these options:
1. Another white lie. Although it’s kind of hard to come up with one for this monstrosity. (“Oops! Did I lose that in the move too?
) It's not like she's stupid. I'm sure she's caught on to her stuff "disappearing" over the years...2. Something “tragic” happens to ruin the table—although the Monstrosity is quite durable; I can’t think of anything that a professional restoration service couldn’t take care of.
3. The obvious solution: Get rid of it, replace it, and tell the truth. But since I’m short on eloquence, do you have any idea on how I should phrase it?
I’d welcome other ideas, too. What do you think? WWYD???
It doesn’t help that was at World Market today drooling over their dining room tables!
