When I heard the news of Tiger Woods’ mother-in-law being rushed to the hospital, I wanted to send that poor woman a telegram. “I feel your pain,” I’d tell her. And I do — I’m hoppin’ mad at Mr. Woods. The Tiger affair (or affairs, I should say) has been the hot topic around our house for days. When I stopped to wonder why I am so angry about the whole thing, I realized: It’s because I’m a mom.

Watching your daughter betrayed by her husband — the one who promised to love and protect her — has to be devastating. As a parent grows older, they want one thing: the knowledge that their own children will be taken care of, financially and emotionally, after they’re no longer around to do it. And watching all those visions of Happily Ever After being crushed into millions of pieces, and on a global scale, no less! Well, let’s just say that I’d be taking a 3 Iron to a few pieces of furniture myself.

Elin Nordegren’s mother, Barbro Holmberg, must have thought her daughter was set when she got married to the apparently squeaky-clean Tiger — millions in the bank, potentially billions in sponsorship, a Stanford education, and a future so bright everyone had to wear shades (designer, of course). He seemed to be a Prince Charming clad in a lawn-green Masters jacket, adored by legions of golf fans (and, apparently, scores of women). And when the adorable children came along, Holmberg had to have breathed a sigh of relief. Here was a man worthy of her precious daughter! After all, he was as close to American royalty as one could hope to get without being a Kennedy.

Unfortunately, fairy tales, even those involving Kennedys, tend to fall apart in real life. The Tiger’s a dog, the marriage is a sham, and the Technicolor sunset future is gone. So what’s a mom to do when her daughter’s life disintegrates before her very eyes? Rush to her side, offer aid, hold those adorable grandbabies, and dry some tears. And swear revenge on the man who destroyed the dream.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. This being the United States, Tiger could pull off a reversal and come out on top in the public perception, claiming mea culpa and promising to reform his ways, at least publicly. Sports fans have notoriously short memories, and many of Tiger’s sponsors seem ready to stick with him. But I’ll tell you one group of people Tiger’s going to have a tough time winning back: The moms. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for breaking his wife’s — or his mother-in-law’s — heart.