Hi, Carolyn: My mother-in-law — who was a wonderful woman — has declining mental acuity after a stroke and is sometimes rudely direct to me, my wife and her husband, in ways that are extreme extensions of traits she previously had but largely kept in check. This makes visits to see my in-laws stressful, and the last couple of times we’ve gone there have been a series of arguments that I’d love to avoid in the future.
Last time, for example, she was rude to me, and my wife interceded on my behalf, which then led to a large blowup between my wife and her…
