"My Husband and I Didn’t Finish High School—Our Ivy League Daughter-in-Law Looks Down on Us"

individuals who never completed High School are often underestimated especially when utilized for entertainment as I was on the verge of passing Aubrey my eldest son's wife she discreetly shared a remark with us ensuring only we could hear the smirk on her face seemed inappropriate for a bride on her wedding day it turned out that the surprise speech we were asked to give for Tyler our eldest son was a trap set by Aubrey to embarrass us Aubrey consistently looked down on us for having only completed middle school and seized every opportunity to insult us being a proud IV League graduate she often made remarks like for someone who is a high school dropout when she suggested our participation in the wedding the day before she might have intended to make a joke out of us in front of her relatives perhaps she believed that High School dropouts wouldn't be able to deliver a proper first speech in French despite her expectations a feeble attempt at showcasing broken and incomprehensible French we reassured our eldest son that we were prepared determined to stand up against au's disrespectful attitude I took hold of the microphone my name is violet and I'll be turning 70 this year despite facing hardships growing up we now lead ordinary lives like any other family we've always been protective of our eldest son wanting to Shield him from the struggles we endured our sacrifices seemed to pay off when he decided to marry Aubrey unfortunately their wedding posed new challenges when we first met aubre she gave off a modest and gentle impression making us thrilled about our son marrying such a wonderful person however things changed when my husband began reminiscing about our son's past he's always been smart unlike us thanks to that he even attended the State University my husband said Aubrey interrupted with surprise oh so you two didn't even go to a public university no I replied we didn't even finish High School due to family circumstances we had to help out with the family business instead of attending school although there were circumstances we couldn't be proud of we exchanged resign Smiles at the behavior of my eldest son's wife it's not like we didn't want to learn at school just like everyone else nevertheless we were proud of our home and didn't resent it while hearing that someone only completed Middle School is quite surprising right absolutely but I'm so glad that intelligence wasn't passed down to Tyler what do you mean I asked well having in-laws who only completed Middle School is truly like a black hen laying a white egg my eldest son's wife said with a slight smile the atmosphere became tense in an instant we couldn't say it was something to boast about but both my husband and I exchanged glances at her blunt remarks we were taken aback by her words but my eldest son's wife seemed unfaced and even laughed saying oh was that too difficult called a term for high school dropouts seeing her nonent smile we were at a loss for words giving her the benefit of the doubt we thought perhaps she meant no harm and bit back our words however my eldest son's wife's words and actions were nothing short of disdain as if she was simply looking down on us she must have thought that because of the term High School dropouts we were pitiable uneducated in laws from then on her attitude became increasingly terrible making spiteful comments at every opportunity you to married quite young didn't you because you had nothing better to do that's not true we got to know each other well and then got married I replied it must have been a time when you could choose who you loved but ending up with another High School DRP Out means you could only get someone on your level right Aubrey said with a mocking smile her words dripping with malice despite her terrible Behavior both my husband and I repeatedly warned her yet she didn't seem to listen acting as if we were arrogant despite our lack of formal education in front of Tyler she would act somewhat well behaved but when he wasn't around she'd become Brazen openly voicing her criticisms it's true my eldest son graduated from an ivy leak School but her behavior made it clear that academic achievements don't necessarily reflect one's character as the wedding preparations progressed her attitude only worsened which she occasionally came to our house and we had dinner she'd say things like oh even someone with just a middle school education can cook huh while looking over the meal I prepared another time she remarked even with just a middle school educ you live in such a nice house maybe it's because your son is so accomplished her tone suggested as if we were dependent on my eldest son Aubrey don't be disrespectful to my dad this house was bought with his earnings Tyler is so kind he probably helped out a lot right even when Tyler noticed and tried to intervene Aubrey just brushed it off saying I didn't mean any harm all the the while smirking at us when I looked into her condescending eyes I could only feel malice even when my eldest son tried to correct her behavior she assumed I had tattled on her and seemed annoyed he can't possibly earn enough to build a house just because he dropped out of high school that's what my friends say too to make matters worse my eldest son's wife had been spreading baseless rumors around town claiming that we were Le ing off our son's earnings and living a luxurious life at his expense we were at our wits end with her insensitivity don't expect me to take care of you just because I married your son okay I just became a family with Tyler not to deal with burdens like you you're preaching to the chir we wouldn't want someone who can spout such harsh words to look after us anyway you're in denial oh by the way I hope you've given up on the idea of relying on Tyler please don't be a bother any longer no matter how many times we clarified Aubrey seemed convinced that we intended to continue relying on my eldest son constantly keeping us in check every time we met even when we told her that wasn't the case she wouldn't listen leaving me with nothing but size even the atmosphere around the upcoming wedding had become T Aubrey came to us with a request she wanted us to give a speech as part of the entertainment during the wedding we've taken some money from you both for the wedding so we'll let you attend but in return can you do me a favor I want it to be a surprise for Tyler it's kind of last minute to be telling me this you know I replied I forgot I'm sorry but it's already scheduled so I can't change it a speech h well if that's all you want I guess it's fine I agreed reluctantly realizing that arguing was feudal despite her biting words I resigned myself to the task given the request for a 10-minute speech from the groom's parents we were skeptical but agreed surely she wouldn't try to mess with us during the speech Just as I had that thought Aubrey narrowed her eyes and grinned cheekily great so I'll need the speech in French tomorrow French why on Earth I asked taken a back she looked down at me with a smug expression and I realized once again that she held nothing but malice towards us I was truly disappointed a lot of my friends like me are ivy league graduates I don't want to be looked down upon just because my in-laws are high school dropouts she said but even if they're Elites there's no reason the speech has to be in French right think about how the other guests would feel all right I guess French might be too much for high school dropouts it must be embarrassing making excuses huh she added with constant sarcasm her forceful attitude left us with a warning to keep our promise before she walked away I glanced at my husband with a troubled look and he just shook his head in silence while we were pondering our next move A call came from Tyler Mom are you okay is everything all right yes everything's fine what's up I replied I heard from Aubrey that you guys are going to help make the wedding special I was worried she might have caused more trouble for you he said sounding apologetic it seemed he had called out of concern for Aubrey's excessive Behavior I wonder if choosing Aubrey as my life partner was a mistake I never thought someone could change so much just because of their educational background my eldest son voiced his doubts I couldn't bear to see my beloved Son who never boasted about his education and grew up to be such a kind-hearted individual worry any further my husband and I exchanged a knowing glance and nodded in agreement we're fine honey don't worry about a thing just look forward to the wedding we reassured him with that we began preparing our speech determined to show Au what we were made of we headed to the wedding venue the following day on the wedding day everything seemed to be going smoothly except for the occasional glances and sneers from Aubrey's friends Seated on her side even when we ran into them in the corridor they purposely bumped into my shoulder without even a simple reading without apologizing they moved on wearing scornful Smiles which made me think they'd probably been hearing things about us from Aubrey are you okay Violet yes I'm fine I replied I could guess what they'd been told but even then these were very rude individuals for being firsttime acquaintances their character was questionable if I was considered the Bad Apple in the lot they'd surely were no better I straight my posture and sighed deeply waiting for the right moment to fight back now we have a surprise speech from the groom's parents at the Lively announcement my husband and I looked up my eldest son looked shocked while beside him Aubrey sneered at us with a smirk that seemed entirely out of place for a bride the French of old folks who dropped out of high school is perfect for entertainment my eldest son's wife whispered just loud enough for us to hear as we passed by I had half a mind to slap that smug face but I held back and accepted the microphone taking a brief moment to collect myself I began my speech first let me share a little about us the moment I started I saw from the corner of my eye that Aubrey's eyes went wide in Surprise she probably was looking forward to hearing a disappointing speech from the grandparents in broken French what we may not have native likee fluency it seems we more than shattered her expectations my husband sitting next to me went on to even show off several other foreign languages not just French seeing Aubrey's wide-eyed stunned expression I couldn't help but smirk how can you deliver such a speech it's weird considering you dropped out of high school please don't judge a book by its cover or in this case by one's education I responded softly and continued my speech I openly delivered the speech in French discussing how my eldest son's wife disapproved of our educational background I talked about her unexpectedly requesting this French speech just the day before and her demanding attitude implying that if we were to attend the wedding this was the least we could do I even addressed her previous insults towards us I asked actually had much more to say but my speech was cut short due to a flustered Interruption from Aubrey still the murmur and whispering in the crowd coupled with the shocked look on Aubrey's face made me feel that our revenge was complete um sorry for that little commotion there it was a surprise speech from the groom's parents thank you no thank you I said may I say your pronunciation was impeccable did you study abroad no to our embarrassment we dropped out of high school yes it's true that we dropped out of high school but in my case it was to help out with the family business my husband although he too only completed Middle School managed not only to support his family but also became the CEO of a successful company he climbed his way up working relentlessly and even established his own company learning everything he needed on his own not attending school was trivial to him my husband and I met by chance through our work knowing the similar hardships I faced he stepped in to assist with my family's business thank you so much for helping our family I can't express my gratitude enough if you're thankful why not work with us it would be reassuring to have someone who's faced the same challenges on board that's how I started working at my husband's company and continued working even after we got married until my retirement since the company also had overseas operations thankfully both my husband and I became fluent in French I finished off by saying to Aubrey with a smile it was the bride who asked us to deliver this speech in French at this wonderful venue she set up this opportunity so that my husband and I who only completed Middle School wouldn't be looked down upon by her and her Highly Educated friends including those who graduated from prestigious universities like Harvard from her reaction even though she requested the speech in French she probably couldn't fully understand it likely she didn't grasp the entirety of our previous speeches either her earlier outbursts seemed to stem from her disdain for seeing us speak French fluently as I waved cheerfully Aubrey waved back timidly her usual sarcastic remarks were gone and she remained silent and looked down for the rest of the event the guests from my eldest son's wife's side seemed to have understood the speech much better than she did their smiles from moments ago instantly faded Aubrey's parents appeared just as distressed and the festive mood quickly shifted after the ceremony they r rushed over to us informing us about their professional ties with my husband's company as we were about to leave the venue they stopped us while forcefully making my eldest son's wife who was still in her beautiful dress apologize they two apologized profusely we desperately tried to calm them down my daughter behaved very awfully and we are truly sorry it's okay even in family everyone different I had no idea I did not see that coming well I bet you never really listened to what I said you were so proud saying black hen lays a white egg when I revealed what happened in front of her parents they both turned beat red and glared at their daughter the complexion of my eldest son's wife worsened even more we'll make sure she reflects on her actions we'll discipline her properly to sure this doesn't happen again that's fine she's now a part of our son's family she mentioned wanting to distance herself from us to add insult to injury my eldest son's wife finally had tears in her eyes her parents seemed pretty intimidating but that's none of our business furthermore I heard that even her friends had cut ties with her because they had believed the baseless rumors saying we thought you had terrible in-laws with with just a middle school education she must have felt embarrassed for getting caught up in all that why is this happening to me if Tyler had told me none of this would have happened I did tell you they had earnings enough to build a house and didn't need any financial help they even paid for all of my college tuition yeah you never really listen to me either came the cold reply Tyler turned his back on her usually mild mannered Tyler was at his wit's end with this situation and was even considering divorce abandoned by her relatives friends and even by my eldest son Aubrey found herself completely isolated a few days after the ceremony though seriously contemplating divorce it seemed like they were still trying to work things out in their marriage abandoned by my eldest son Aubrey seemed to work tirelessly as if she had transformed formed into another person Violet can we please let bygones be bygones and get along again I don't recall us ever getting along in the first place she seemed to be acting remorseful in front of Tyler but toward us she often came up close pretending to apologize unfortunately I'm the type to hold a grudge so I pretended not to notice her intentions of trying to mend her relationship with my eldest son and our family I kept my distance who do you think was suggesting we should cut ties oh come on quit playing dumb and just help me out will you always nagging you're the most spiteful person why thank you you're trying to make a spectacle out of an old couple's French skills that was quite a move not liking my retort a frustrated Au glared at me with her Unapologetic attitude how relation ship might indeed be severed soon even if it put her in a difficult position I wondered where her High Pride came from she seemed to look down on us and was reluctant to reflect on her actions recently a relative who had recorded the wedding sent us the footage when it got to my speech we clearly saw the surprised face of the bride and burst out laughing you know school isn't the only place to learn maybe I should to try learning something new why not maybe I'll join you we decided to head to a bookstore together to look for some study materials