DEAR ABBY: I am going to be a great-grandmother soon, and I'm very excited about it. I didn't think I would live to experience this great joy. My beautiful granddaughter is not married to the baby's father, but is a mature and loving person.
Although her immediate family is supportive, the extended family is not and refuses to acknowledge it. My sisters will call me and talk about anything and everything except my granddaughter and the baby that is coming. I don't know what to make of their conduct. I feel like hanging up on them, or telling them off and being done with them.
They are never going to experience being great-grandmothers themselves. Could they be jealous or angry that this happened? Please tell me how to handle it. Their health isn't good, so if I cut them off, it could be forever. -- PERPLEXED IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR PERPLEXED: Your sisters could be jealous or angry, as you suspect. They could also be judgmental and trying to "punish" your granddaughter for being pregnant and unwed by ignoring her.
I don't blame you for feeling angry, and possibly hurt, for the way they are behaving. You're entitled. But the question you must answer for yourself is, would you be better off with or without those "sweethearts" in your life? Only you can answer that one.