{"id":17561,"date":"2026-07-17T15:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=17561"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:54:16","slug":"my-husband-chose-his-daughter-over-me-at-the-family-barbecue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=17561","title":{"rendered":"My Husband Chose His Daughter Over Me at the Family Barbecue\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At a family barbecue, I accidentally brushed against my husband\u2019s daughter, and she screamed, \u201cDon\u2019t ever touch me again!\u201d Rather than asking what had happened, my husband looked at me coldly and said,<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"click-to-read-more-button-wrapper\" data-line-count=\"39\" data-ctrmb-max-height=\"998.4000000000001\">\n<div class=\"click-to-read-more-button-content-area\">\n<p>\u201cApologize to her or leave.\u201d So I walked away without another word-but when they returned home, what they found waiting for them changed everything.<\/p>\n<p>The first time I truly understood that I had become an outsider in my own marriage happened during a family barbecue in Lakewood, Colorado, on a bright Saturday afternoon filled with the scent of charcoal, sunscreen, and sweet corn roasting in foil.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\"><\/div>\n<p>My husband, Daniel Whitmore, stood near the grill laughing with his brother as though he had no concerns in the world. His sixteen-year-old daughter, Ava, sat on the back deck beside her cousins, holding her phone and wearing the same irritated expression she always showed whenever I came within ten feet of her.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel and I had been married for three years.<\/p>\n<p>Ava had disliked me for every one of them.<\/p>\n<p>I never forced a relationship. I never called myself her mother. I remembered her birthdays, drove her<br \/>\nto volleyball practice, helped Daniel cover the cost of her braces, and stayed silent whenever she<br \/>\nintroduced me as \u201cjust Dad\u2019s wife.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p>That afternoon, Daniel\u2019s mother asked me to bring lemonade outside. I carried the glass pitcher<br \/>\ncarefully, trying not to spill it. Ava suddenly stepped backward from the deck stairs while laughing at<br \/>\nsomething on her phone. I turned at the same moment, and my shoulder barely touched her arm.<\/p>\n<p>The pitcher trembled, and the ice clattered loudly.<\/p>\n<p>Before I could speak, Ava spun toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t ever touch me again!\u201d she screamed.<\/p>\n<p>The entire backyard fell silent.<\/p>\n<p>I froze. \u201cAva, I\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t see you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tears appeared in her eyes so quickly they seemed rehearsed. \u201cYou always do this. You always try to<br \/>\nget close to me when nobody\u2019s looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel set down the grilling tongs and walked over with a hard expression. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe shoved me,\u201d Ava said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d I whispered. \u201cDaniel, it was an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But he did not look at me like my husband.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me like a judge who had already decided the verdict.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApologize to her,\u201d he said coldly, \u201cor leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A warm breeze passed through the yard.<\/p>\n<p>Someone coughed.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s mother lowered her eyes toward the grass.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Ava. She raised her chin and waited.<\/p>\n<p>Then I turned toward Daniel. \u201cYou believe I would shove your daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He remained silent.<\/p>\n<p>That silence told me everything.<\/p>\n<p>I placed the lemonade pitcher on the patio table. Then I removed the thin gold bracelet Daniel had<br \/>\ngiven me on our first anniversary and set it beside the paper plates.<\/p>\n<p>After that, I walked through the side gate, got into my car, and drove away without shedding a tear.<\/p>\n<p>Once I reached home, I did not pack in anger.<\/p>\n<p>I packed carefully.<\/p>\n<p>I collected my documents, laptop, the external hard drive from my desk, and the small black folder I<br \/>\nhad hidden for eight months.<\/p>\n<p>Then I contacted a locksmith.<\/p>\n<p>By the time Daniel and Ava returned that evening, the house was silent, the porch light glowed, and a<br \/>\nlarge white envelope sat in the middle of the kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>PART 2<\/p>\n<p>Daniel later told his brother he assumed the envelope contained some dramatic apology.<\/p>\n<p>It did not.<\/p>\n<p>Ava entered first. She threw her purse onto the bench near the door and called, \u201cMegan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was no response.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel walked into the kitchen and noticed the envelope with his name written across it in my<br \/>\nhandwriting.<\/p>\n<p>DANIEL.<\/p>\n<p>Not honey.<\/p>\n<p>Not Dan.<\/p>\n<p>Not my husband.<\/p>\n<p>Only Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>He opened it while Ava leaned against the counter, still wearing the smug smile she had brought<br \/>\nhome from the barbecue.<\/p>\n<p>There were three items inside.<\/p>\n<p>A copy of an application for a temporary protection order.<\/p>\n<p>A printed record of transfers from our joint account into Daniel\u2019s private account.<\/p>\n<p>And a letter from my attorney, Renee Caldwell.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s expression changed before he finished the second paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>Ava noticed immediately. \u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did not respond.<\/p>\n<p>He continued reading.<\/p>\n<p>The letter explained that I would no longer remain in the house because of repeated emotional<br \/>\nhostility, false allegations, and concerns involving financial misconduct. It also informed Daniel that<br \/>\nhe had seventy-two hours to respond regarding the division of marital property, including the house,<br \/>\nwhich was not solely his despite whatever he had apparently told his daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Ava grabbed the second page from his hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel pulled it back. \u201cGo upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. What does it mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means Megan is overreacting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But his voice had become thin.<\/p>\n<p>The home they were standing in was not Daniel\u2019s childhood property, his personal refuge, or some<br \/>\nplace he had generously \u201callowed\u201d me to occupy.<\/p>\n<p>I had provided the down payment.<\/p>\n<p>My name appeared on the deed.<\/p>\n<p>For almost two years, Daniel had also been quietly transferring money from our joint account into an<br \/>\naccount he believed I knew nothing about. He labeled the transactions as home repairs, school<br \/>\ncosts, insurance changes, and property tax savings.<\/p>\n<p>But I worked in accounting.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized hidden money.<\/p>\n<p>What I had not understood at first was the purpose behind it.<\/p>\n<p>Eight months earlier, a bank statement had been delivered to me by mistake, revealing a pattern.<br \/>\nAfter that, I stopped accepting Daniel\u2019s explanations and began preserving everything: screenshots,<br \/>\nreceipts, emails, and recorded messages from contractors confirming that no repairs had ever been<br \/>\narranged.<\/p>\n<p>Then I uncovered something larger.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel planned to refinance the house using my salary and credit, withdraw the equity, and transfer<br \/>\nthe funds into a college investment account under his exclusive control. He had promised Ava that<br \/>\nwhen she turned eighteen, he would help her purchase a condominium in Boulder.<\/p>\n<p>Using my money.<\/p>\n<p>When I cautiously questioned him, he laughed and said I was \u201ctoo sensitive about finances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So I waited.<\/p>\n<p>I gave him opportunity after opportunity to tell me the truth.<\/p>\n<p>At the barbecue, when Ava accused me and Daniel demanded an apology for something I had not<br \/>\ndone, he did more than humiliate me.<\/p>\n<p>He confirmed what I had been afraid to accept.<\/p>\n<p>Within that family, I mattered only as long as I contributed money, smiled politely, and remained silent.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel rushed upstairs and discovered that half the primary bedroom closet had been emptied. My<br \/>\nclothes were gone. My jewelry box had disappeared. The framed wedding photograph on the dresser<br \/>\nhad been turned facedown.<\/p>\n<p>Ava stood in the doorway, now pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad,\u201d she said, \u201cyou told me she couldn\u2019t leave because the house was yours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time that day, Ava realized adults could lie to children as well.<\/p>\n<p>PART 3<\/p>\n<p>By Monday morning, Daniel had called twenty-three times.<\/p>\n<p>I answered none of them.<\/p>\n<p>His first text was angry.<\/p>\n<p>You embarrassed me in front of my family.<\/p>\n<p>Then came blame.<\/p>\n<p>You are trying to take my daughter\u2019s home.<\/p>\n<p>Then panic.<\/p>\n<p>Megan, please call me. We need to talk before lawyers get involved.<\/p>\n<p>But attorneys were already involved.<\/p>\n<p>I was staying in my friend Claire\u2019s townhouse in Denver, sleeping in a guest room with blue curtains<br \/>\nand neatly folded towels placed at the end of the bed. Claire asked very few questions. She handed<br \/>\nme coffee, shared the Wi-Fi password, and said, \u201cYou can fall apart after the first meeting with your<br \/>\nattorney. Until then, stay sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So I stayed focused.<\/p>\n<p>Renee Caldwell\u2019s office was located on the ninth floor of a glass building downtown. She was in her<br \/>\nearly fifties, composed, direct, and nearly impossible to intimidate. She had represented me for<br \/>\nexactly eleven days before the barbecue. I had quietly hired her after discovering Daniel\u2019s refinancing<br \/>\ndocuments in the printer tray at home.<\/p>\n<p>He had printed a draft application and forgotten page six.<\/p>\n<p>Page six included my yearly income, credit score range, and an electronic signature line already<br \/>\ncompleted with my name.<\/p>\n<p>I had never approved it.<\/p>\n<p>When Renee examined the page, she tapped it once and said, \u201cThis is not just a marriage problem.<br \/>\nThis is a legal problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now I sat across from her desk while she arranged the contents of my folder into orderly piles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel\u2019s attorney called this morning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>I sat more upright. \u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. He wants to resolve this privately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat means Daniel is scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means Daniel understands the paperwork is not flattering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed, though the sound came out more like an exhale.<\/p>\n<p>Renee continued, \u201cYou have documentation of unauthorized financial movement, attempted misuse<br \/>\nof your signature, and a pattern of hostile treatment witnessed by multiple people. The barbecue<br \/>\nincident matters because it shows the family dynamic. It may not decide property division, but it<br \/>\nsupports your reason for leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at my hands.<\/p>\n<p>A pale mark remained where my wedding ring had rested.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe file for divorce. We request a full financial disclosure. We freeze any major transactions<br \/>\ninvolving the house. And we make it clear that Daniel does not get to bully you into silence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That afternoon, Daniel stopped messaging me and began contacting Claire instead.<\/p>\n<p>She showed me the messages while lifting one eyebrow.<\/p>\n<p>Tell Megan this is between husband and wife.<\/p>\n<p>Tell Megan Ava is crying.<\/p>\n<p>Tell Megan she is destroying this family.<\/p>\n<p>Claire replied only once.<\/p>\n<p>Megan has legal representation. Contact her attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Then she blocked him.<\/p>\n<p>Two days later, Ava called from a number I did not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>I knew her voice immediately, though it sounded much softer than usual.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMegan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A long silence followed. Traffic sounded in the background, perhaps from the school parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m calling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>She swallowed. \u201cHe\u2019s really mad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sure he is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said you\u2019re trying to make us homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>F<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said you hate me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAva, I don\u2019t hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why are you doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could have told her it was because her father had lied.<\/p>\n<p>Because he had used me.<\/p>\n<p>Because she had learned cruelty from someone who rewarded it whenever it benefited him.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, I said, \u201cBecause I cannot live in a house where I am accused, disrespected, and used. I<\/p>\n<p>should have left sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ava went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Then she said, \u201cI didn\u2019t really think you shoved me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Baby<\/p>\n<p>The admission landed heavily.<\/p>\n<p>I remained completely still.<\/p>\n<p>She continued quickly. \u201cI mean, I knew you bumped into me. But everyone was watching, and I was<br \/>\nmad, and Grandma always says Dad changed after marrying you, and I just \u2026 I wanted him to pick<br \/>\nme.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened, but I kept my voice steady.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t think you\u2019d leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was the problem, Ava.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then she began crying.<\/p>\n<p>Not loudly.<\/p>\n<p>Not theatrically.<\/p>\n<p>Only a small, broken sound from a girl who had finally reached the edge of the game she had been<br \/>\nplaying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n<p>I believed that she meant it in that moment.<\/p>\n<p>But one apology could not erase three years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAva,\u201d I said, \u201cI hope you learn from this. I really do. But I\u2019m not coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She did not respond.<\/p>\n<p>After some time, she asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen to the house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat will be handled legally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad said he paid for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another silence followed.<\/p>\n<p>Then she asked very quietly, \u201cDid you pay for my braces?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward Claire\u2019s kitchen window, where the late afternoon sun stretched across the counter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd volleyball camp?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd my laptop?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She cried harder.<\/p>\n<p>I did not comfort her the way I once would have.<\/p>\n<p>That version of me had remained behind at the barbecue beside the lemonade pitcher while my<br \/>\nhusband chose humiliation instead of truth.<\/p>\n<p>Three weeks later, Daniel and I faced each other across a mediation table.<\/p>\n<p>He looked worse than I expected. His beard was uneven, his shirt creased, and dark shadows rested<br \/>\nbeneath his eyes. His attorney, Peter Lawson, had a sharp face and kept whispering warnings<br \/>\nwhenever Daniel\u2019s temper started rising.<\/p>\n<p>Renee sat beside me with a yellow legal pad and her usual composed expression.<\/p>\n<p>The mediator, a retired judge, examined the financial disclosures.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel attempted to describe the transfers as \u201cfamily planning.\u201d He claimed he had been putting<br \/>\nmoney aside for Ava because he feared I would refuse to support her once she turned eighteen.<\/p>\n<p>Renee pushed the refinance draft across the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the attempted use of my client\u2019s signature?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s jaw tightened. \u201cIt was a draft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith her information already filled in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was going to discuss it with her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou printed it while she was at work, saved it in a folder labeled \u2018final documents,\u2019 and scheduled a<br \/>\ncall with the lender for the following week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>For once, there was no control in his expression.<\/p>\n<p>Only calculation collapsing in real time.<\/p>\n<p>The mediator cleared his throat. \u201cMr. Whitmore, I suggest you listen carefully to your counsel before<br \/>\nresponding further.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the day, Daniel accepted terms he would have laughed at one month earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The property would be sold unless he could legally refinance it under his name alone and pay me my<br \/>\ncomplete share of the equity within ninety days. His income and credit were insufficient, so everyone<br \/>\nat the table understood the outcome.<\/p>\n<p>The house would be sold.<\/p>\n<p>I would be repaid for part of the money transferred without authorization. Daniel would remain<br \/>\nresponsible for his personal debts. Neither of us would communicate directly except through our<br \/>\nattorneys regarding unresolved legal matters.<\/p>\n<p>As we stood to leave, Daniel finally addressed me without being prompted by his lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn\u2019t have to do it like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I lifted my purse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mouth tightened. \u201cAva misses you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, Daniel. Ava misses what I provided. There\u2019s a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He flinched.<\/p>\n<p>For years, I had confused patience with kindness.<\/p>\n<p>I believed that if I remained gentle long enough, the house might eventually feel like a home.<\/p>\n<p>But one person cannot build a home by absorbing every insult while everyone else calls the result<br \/>\npeace.<\/p>\n<p>Two months later, the property was listed for sale.<\/p>\n<p>I returned once while Daniel and Ava were gone, accompanied by a realtor and locksmith. The rooms<br \/>\nfelt strangely empty with half the furniture removed. The kitchen table remained, the same table<br \/>\nwhere I had left the envelope.<\/p>\n<p>I paused in the doorway, remembering the woman who had placed it there.<\/p>\n<p>She had not been dramatic.<\/p>\n<p>She had simply reached the end.<\/p>\n<p>In the living room, I noticed something resting on the mantel. Daniel had turned the wedding<br \/>\nphotograph upright again, perhaps for potential buyers or perhaps from guilt. In the picture, I smiled<br \/>\ntoward the camera while Daniel looked at me with an expression I had once mistaken for love.<\/p>\n<p>I removed the frame, pulled out the photograph, and tore it neatly in two.<\/p>\n<p>I kept my half.<\/p>\n<p>Not because I wanted the memory.<\/p>\n<p>Because I wanted evidence that I had existed in that home as more than a source of money, more<br \/>\nthan a convenient stepmother, and more than a woman expected to apologize whenever someone<br \/>\nelse hurt her.<\/p>\n<p>The property sold quickly to a young couple with a baby and a golden retriever.<\/p>\n<p>At closing, Daniel did not meet my eyes. Ava came with him, wearing a gray sweatshirt and no<br \/>\nmakeup. She waited until the papers were signed before approaching me in the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>She looked younger than sixteen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got a job,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>I was genuinely surprised. \u201cYou did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt a frozen yogurt place near school. I\u2019m paying Dad back for some stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded and twisted her fingers. \u201cI also told Grandma what really happened at the barbecue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I studied her expression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t believe me at first,\u201d Ava continued. \u201cThen Uncle Mark said he saw me step back into you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I slowly released a breath.<\/p>\n<p>For weeks, I had wondered whether anyone would ever acknowledge what happened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for telling her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ava\u2019s eyes filled with tears, though she kept them from falling. \u201cI know it doesn\u2019t fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d I said softly. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded once more, accepting the answer exactly as it was.<\/p>\n<p>Not punishment.<\/p>\n<p>Not forgiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Only truth.<\/p>\n<p>Six months after the barbecue, I moved into a small Fort Collins condominium with large windows,<br \/>\nquiet neighbors, and a balcony wide enough for two chairs and a pot of basil. Mine was the only<br \/>\nname on the deed. Every bill was addressed to me. Every key belonged to me.<\/p>\n<p>During the first warm weekend of spring, Claire arrived with takeout food and wine. We ate noodles<br \/>\ndirectly from the containers while watching the sun disappear behind the foothills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you ever miss them?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered Daniel standing beside the grill and demanding that I apologize. I remembered Ava\u2019s<br \/>\nsharp scream cutting across the yard. I remembered the envelope resting on the kitchen table like a<br \/>\njudgment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI miss who I thought they could become,\u201d I said. \u201cNot who they were.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire lifted her carton. \u201cThat\u2019s growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>My phone vibrated once on the table.<\/p>\n<p>A message had arrived from an unfamiliar number.<\/p>\n<p>Megan, it\u2019s Ava. I\u2019m not asking you to answer. I just wanted to tell you I got accepted into a summer<br \/>\nbusiness program. I\u2019m paying half myself. I think you would have liked that. I hope you\u2019re okay.<\/p>\n<p>I read it twice.<\/p>\n<p>Then I turned the phone facedown.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps one day I would answer.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps I would not.<\/p>\n<p>What mattered was that my silence no longer came from fear.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, as the temperature cooled and the sky deepened into violet, I stepped onto my balco<br \/>\nand watched the peaceful street below.<\/p>\n<p>For three years, I had tried to earn a place inside a family that kept moving the entrance.<\/p>\n<p>At the barbecue, they ordered me to apologize or leave.<\/p>\n<p>So I left.<\/p>\n<p>And when they returned home, the shock was already waiting.<\/p>\n<p>Not revenge.<\/p>\n<p>Not drama.<\/p>\n<p>Only the consequences of underestimating a woman who had finally stopped begging anyone to<br \/>\nbelieve her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a family barbecue, I accidentally brushed against my husband\u2019s daughter, and she screamed, \u201cDon\u2019t ever touch me again!\u201d Rather than asking what had happened, my husband looked at me &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17562,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17561\/revisions\/17562"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}