Dear Lady. Ann:
I know a lot of people might say it’s none of my business, but I think it is. A little over a decade ago, I lost my sister. She died a few days after having her second child. It was a terrible time for all of us. Her husband moved on pretty quickly afterward and got himself another woman. My nieces refer to this woman as their mommy, and they actually think she is their mommy.
We see the kids very few times in the year and that’s because my mom has to beg to see the kids. But my brother in law insists we don’t tell the kids about their real mom. He thinks it will traumatize them and he just wants them to have a healthy childhood. Now, I ‘ve never been okay with this mindset, but I feel like I don’t really have a say. One of the kids look so much like her mommy, it is just painful to watch her grow without knowing where she got all her features from. I know it’s not my place to let the kids know who their real mommy is but it’s killing me inside. What do I do?
#DLATribe, should she try convincing her brother in law or wait for the kids to come asking?