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An Open Letter of Apology to My Ex-Boyfriend’s Mother
Two decades later, I’m still sorry for what my mom did to you
Dear Mrs. Baylor,
Your son and I only dated for two weeks in college.
But there was a whole year before that where he and I were the best of friends and did everything together. In that time, you got to know me and my family really well. I always liked you, and I had a little secret hope you could be my mother-in-law someday.
You even became good friends with my mom.
But right after your son and I made the decision to date, it quickly became apparent that we were not well suited for each other. Funny how that works.
When I say “quickly became apparent”, I mean that our official relationship lasted all of two weeks.
For whatever reason, your son decided that in addition to breaking up with me, he also hated my guts. I now understand it was his personal struggle with emotional maturity, but back then, this kinda tore me apart because I had no idea what I’d done to him.
So when my mom asked what happened, I told her everything.
This was a big deal, because I don’t tell my mom things. She’s a good person, we’re just not close. That part is another story for another day.
But at that moment, my mom really felt for me. She didn’t say much right then, but after we parted, my mom went home and decided to write me a letter with her thoughts.
It was still in the early days of email. My mom had only recently gotten an email address and learned how to use it. She had a small list of friends on her contacts list, including you, of course.
So my mom wrote me a heartfelt email about how, if she were to be honest, she was really thankful your son and I were broken up, because she had never found him to be a pleasant person in the year she had known him. She said she found him rude and unfriendly, and she did not like the way he barely acknowledged her and my dad.
My mom concluded that she was relieved I was no longer with your son and that she knew I could do much, much, better.
