Tactless remarks.

My MIL when discovering I was pregnant again, said that I must want a girl as I already had a boy. I assured her I really didn't mind, I would be thrilled either way (she knew we had had infertility difficulties) to which she said that she knew I wanted a girl really, I just needed to be more honest about it! It was another boy and I was over the moon, but she still continued to tell me I must be terribly disappointed!
MIL constantly made unpleasant and tactful remarks. In all the years right up until she passed away, every time I spoke to her on the phone or in person, her conversation always started with telling me how wonderful my husband's ex-girlfriend was, even though by the time MIL died, his ex had been his ex over 30 years before! And yes, I do mean EVERY time, twice a month at the very least!
She once said to me "I didn't recognise you, you've put on so much weight!" even though I was exactly the same weight as usual!

Our DD1 died suddenly age 7 months.....I gave up counting the number of people who said "Oh well you can have another one" as if I lost a doll/teddy

I was newly pregnant with a long-awaited pregnancy at age 39 when I went to the hairdresser. I mentioned my pregnancy and he said, “Oh, bad luck!”

Sago

My late mother…. Unbelievable!
Here’s the best!
I took my mother to see her GP, she was 88, he told her she was fine and not to worry, I said “I told you it was nothing you will probably outlive me.”
“I do hope so” was her reply?

That made me laugh!

When I was in labour with my son, my (now ex) husband told the midwife we had chosen a boys name but not a girls. He asked her what her name was and she said ‘Lilian’. He then said, ‘let’s hope it’s a boy then.’ This was long before the name Lily came back into fashion, by the way!

Some years ago a joined a Singing For Pleasure group (social anxiety levels rising), I had to sit next to a “counter tenor” who wasn’t and I couldn’t hear the other sopranos, consequently I just went for it. At the break someone complained to me that the person behind her kept coming in too soon - she froze as the last word came out of her mouth, realising that person was me. The anxiety levels went up to 11, and although mortified I hung on till the end of the evening. I never went back.
On a funny note though - the “counter tenor”, to reach the higher notes would grab his trousers waist band and hitch them up as high as he could - it wasn’t a pleasant sound.

My mother was well aware of my hang-up over skinny legs and told me I looked like Minnie Mouse in my first pair of kitten heals. She was probably right but I was mortified.

When showing my future mother-in-law my engagement ring for the first time she said she’d need a magnifying glass as the diamond was so small.

Buffy

When I showed my future mother-in-law my engagement ring she said she’d have to get out her magnifying glass.

I'd blame the way she brought up her son, Buffy

When I showed my future mother-in-law my engagement ring she said she’d have to get out her magnifying glass.

I was staying with a friend in Scotland. We were driving in her car with me in the back. Her sister was in the front and they were discussing me in the mistaken belief that I had dozed off.
Irene : "She's Catholic you know. They should all be taken out and shot. Then a bit later she said, she's got an odd face hasn't she. Bit like a wonky milkmaid".

I never felt quite the same about her after that and didn't stay in touch.

My mum would look me up and down and say " That's very slimming" - I used to wait for her to say it.
My grandson gave me a critical look, when I had to wear a wig during chemo, and said " It's very real but it's young hair and you've got an old face." He was only 8 at the time, but I wore hats after that. However, when we were waiting to go out, I in my nicest hat, he turned to me and said " Are you going out like that? " and realising he'd put his foot in it he said, " cos it's not winter," We couldn't help laughing.

On telling my MIL I was pregnant with DC3 my MIL then said what did you go and do that for …I was speechless I think she probably thought because I already had one of each I didn’t need another child

I had a beautiful daughter and four years later proudly (after some illness) produced another.

My husband and elder daughter came to collect myself and baby and we all stepped into the lift which stopped at another floor.

A couple entered the lift, looked at me proudly beaming at our new baby. 'What is it?', they enquired. I almost said that I was holding a pot plant but politely said 'a girl!'.

'Never mind', they said, 'better luck next time' as the lift doors opened and they walked away!

This week:
I have been ill recently and was asked to have a consultation with our doctor. As I walked into the room he said 'my goodness, you look terrible', which didn't really help but I know he meant well as he is a lovely man.

My MIL after meeting my Mum, "she's very nice, not a bit like you. She also delighted telling how wonderful a previous girlfriend had been.

My Mother she once said to my friend who had just had her hair cut and we bumped into ,'what do think to my hair? "Oh, never mind it will soon grow back" l wished the ground would have swallowed me up!

When we announced our engagement my MIL looked me up and down and said "Well, I suppose you'll have to do". My FIL told my fiance not to spend a lot on the wedding because I wouldn't last 5 minutes, he'd give us 2 years at best! We've been happily married for 43 years.

When my in-laws visited our first home my FIL remarked "It's alright for a shoebox I suppose"

When our first son was born my DM said "He's not the sort of baby I expected you to have, he's really lovely!"

Having started in a new job my DH came to pick me up from work one afternoon and waited in the reception area. A female colleague, who had a very high opinion of herself, asked who the dishy guy in reception was. When told he was my husband she said "Oh my goodness, he's gorgeous! Whatever does he see in her?" The next day the office was full when she loudly demanded to be introduced the next time he picked me up. I said sweetly "Yes of course, but it won't get you anywhere, he likes a woman with a bigger brain than her mouth". Boy was she red-faced!

My mum has always had a habit of making snide remarks to me and has carried this on into her 80’s. I often call to see her on my way home from the hairdressers, she knows that’s where I’ve been and will give me one of her looks and say something like, ‘Have you been to the hairdressers then, they haven’t taken much off have they’. Last week I spent a fortune having a few darker highlights and was feeling quite pleased with the result, only to be told by mother that she thought my hair looked much better lighter. Occasionally I get a rare complement and I nearly fall of the chair in shock. Luckily I have developed a thick skin.
What’s the saying…if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything!!

A friend, known to be opinionated, visited our new home a few weeks after we moved in.
“It will be nice when you’ve redecorated and got rid of those awful light fittings”. We had already redecorated and the light fittings had just been bought!

I asked my husband if he thought I had put on weight. He replied 'never mind darling, I like fat girls'!

A friend? of mine and I were about the same dress size (14) - not necessarily a 'fat' size I think, though she is several inches shorter than I am. She became obsessive about her weight and to her credit managed to lose quite a lot. She handed me a bag of her clothes saying "now that I'm not fat, I thought you'd like these. Needless to say, no I didn't!

MILs are the best at this.
My husband’s younger brother married about 10 years after we did.
It was a lovely wedding but no bridesmaids.
At the reception we were chatting about it with my husband’s cousin, who had been one of my bridesmaids 10 years earlier as a young teenager.
My MIL trills, looking at my former bridesmaid, “well at least nobody had to wear a ghastly bridesmaid’s dress, like you did once, C. What wedding was that? Oh, yes, it was yours, Sarahcyn!”

When DD2 was getting married, she offered to come shopping with me for my "mother of the bride" outfit.

She was kindly critical of some of the outfits I tried, but I valued her opinion. After much trudging about, we finally came across a lovely outfit that perfectly fitted the bill.

It was then she told my that my mother had rung her and instructed her to accompany me on this trip and make sure that what I bought "didn't make me look like a frump like I did at DD1's wedding"!

There. Auto spell grr.

My father was from the north and my mother from the Midlands. We always used to joke that there was a northern dictionary with the words tact and diplomacy omitted but sharp, blunt and to the point all included. If the phone rang my dad was not above telling the caller that the person they wanted was on the toilet. One time it was one of my male teachers. Thanks, Dad! Another remark that went down in family history was when my husband caught chickenpox from our oldest son. Luckily, he was not ill in the way many adults are with this disease but he was under the weather and had a lot of spots, particularly on his face. My parents came to visit and my husband mentioned his spotty face to my mother and myself. We tried to reassure him, saying that they were not too bad. My dad walked into my house and immediately said “good grief, Musicman, your face is a mess. I think you’re getting more spots all the time!” My poor husband went over to the hall mirror and had an instant relapse.

On the subject of babies, beautiful or otherwise, when my oldest son was a baby their was a lady with a baby of a similar age. She was an extremely plain woman with lank, mousy, shoulder length hair, receding chin, a very large nose and protruding teeth. The baby looked exactly like her except for the teeth as he didn’t have any at that point. All we could say was “he looks just like you.” She smiled and said “everyone says that.” There are ways of being honest and tactful.