My son sent me a text: “You won’t be joining us. My wife prefers to keep it only her family.” I had already paid for the entire trip. So I froze the plans—and my daughter-in-law’s response wasn’t what anyone expected. It all began late on a Thursday afternoon. Ellen Peterson was sitting on her living room sofa, still clutching the printed flight confirmations. She had spent weeks organizing the family vacation—flights, hotel bookings, even a rented beach house in Florida. It was her way of reuni