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[quote=Anonymous]I'm really bad at putting myself in other people's shoes sometimes. So, ha, perhaps an anonymous forum can help me to understand.
As background, DH comes from a broken family. Dad walked out on him and his sister when they were in middle school.
DH's sister married and had kids relatively young. She is an elementary school administrator. She is very sing-song and crafty, very into home, garden, everything is smiley.

She lives nearby. Everything in her life is perfect, at all times. She is always cheerful, always up, always putting a happy gloss on every single thing. It is to the point where it feels...not quite inauthentic, but hard to relate to, like she doesn't have any sort of range of emotions. A few months ago, she came over (pre-COVID) and ended up having a ton to drink and talking about how annoying her spouse is. This is the ONE time I have ever seen her "crack" and vent about her life, but it was also easier to talk to her because it felt like she was put down the veil.

The next day I checked in with her to see how she was, and she basically denied it happened, said she was having a bad day and that everything is actually great! Then sent tons of photos of new flower arrangements.

Now, I don't think there's any role for me here beyond just playing along, but what do you think is going on with her? I enjoy pretty authentic, raw relationships with most people in my life where we're open about the warts of our lives, and it's just ... weird to play along like she has this magic fairytale life. It doesn't affect me in any way, but I also find it really puzzling.
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