A member of my family is angry with me. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no clue as to the cause. I realized more than six months ago that he was very carefully not speaking to me unless he was cornered. When he had absolutely no choice, he spoke to me in a sarcastic tone of voice, and still does.
One day when we were visiting their home, he offered a beverage to everyone but me, and though we’ve visited several times, he’s continued that practice. When he comes to my home, he speaks to everyone but me. Yesterday, we were packing up the leftovers for the families to take home with them, and I asked if he ate ham. He replied that he did, but they wouldn’t be taking any of it home.
My inclination is to turn my back on this childishness. Speaking to him is not going to resolve the issue, because he doesn’t care to hear what I might have to say. I could refuse to go to their house, given that I am not welcome, and I could even make a point of not welcoming him to my house, but that doesn’t resolve the issue. It only escalates the problem, and spreads it further throughout the family.
The question is, what do I do? Do I confront him and ask why he’s behaving this way? I suspect that he would deny that he’s been rude to me, but others are beginning to notice what’s going on. One of my concerns is that if I let it go on to long, I’ll snap one day, say something that compounds the problem, and we’ll have a worse situation than we have now. He’s the master at passive-aggressive behavior, when I’m a what-you-see-is-what you-get sort of person. I’m more likely to avoid conflict until it can be avoided no more.
I really don’t want to cause any division in my family. I don’t want anyone to have to consider whether or not they should invite me, and by extension, Dear Husband, or whether it’s not worth the trouble.
If you have advice, I’d love to hear it.