True MIL Confessions - Edition 11
1. I hate your cooking.
2. My kids are not a dog and pony show. Yes, they are cute, smart, and funny, but you would know this if you ever spent time interacting with them.
3. Please stop being helpful in my house. I’m not sure whether you are trying to be the most thoughtful guest ever, or whether you feel very at home with us, or both. Possibly other daughers-in-law would find your helpfulness incredibly... well... helpful.
However, whether you mean to or not, you are making me feel inadequate. You strip the beds and uncover our nasty old mattress. You arrive with three kinds of homemade dessert, or you bring your own flour and sugar and then you make some. You clean the bathtub and shower when you’ve only used them once. You unload the dishwasher, in the process going into every single cupboard in the kitchen.
I say, “Oh, you don’t need to do all this.”
You say, “Oh, but I know how busy you are.”
Sure, I’m busy, (and that is why I haven’t got around to replacing the old mattress), but I don’t make dessert because I don’t like dessert. It’s not a healthy habit. I have to eat all the crazy stuff you make when I visit you, so I would really like to be able to eat MY food in MY house. Also I clean the bathroom right before you come and there isn’t any need to clean it all over again. Also I keep things in my cupboards that aren’t for your perusal. For instance, a shamefully large liquor collection, which I know you disapprove of, and a whole bunch of really ugly wedding gifts that I’m afraid you will discover at the very back of the cupboard under a layer of dust.
Please, understand that I need some privacy in my own home. Yes, you are family, but you are a guest here. There’s a fine line between appropriate thoughtfulness from a guest, and inappropriate making-yourself-at-home. Maybe you haven’t even crossed it—maybe it’s just my hangup. But I really wish I knew how to discuss it without coming across as an ingrate.
4. I already have a mother. I do not want you to be my mother; I do not want to be your little friend. Accept the fact that I try my hardest to respect you as my MIL. You make it tough to do even that.
5. If you need something done, call your son that ISN'T married or has children. My husband has responsibilities to me and my son; we have no time to deal with you.
2. My kids are not a dog and pony show. Yes, they are cute, smart, and funny, but you would know this if you ever spent time interacting with them.
3. Please stop being helpful in my house. I’m not sure whether you are trying to be the most thoughtful guest ever, or whether you feel very at home with us, or both. Possibly other daughers-in-law would find your helpfulness incredibly... well... helpful.
However, whether you mean to or not, you are making me feel inadequate. You strip the beds and uncover our nasty old mattress. You arrive with three kinds of homemade dessert, or you bring your own flour and sugar and then you make some. You clean the bathtub and shower when you’ve only used them once. You unload the dishwasher, in the process going into every single cupboard in the kitchen.
I say, “Oh, you don’t need to do all this.”
You say, “Oh, but I know how busy you are.”
Sure, I’m busy, (and that is why I haven’t got around to replacing the old mattress), but I don’t make dessert because I don’t like dessert. It’s not a healthy habit. I have to eat all the crazy stuff you make when I visit you, so I would really like to be able to eat MY food in MY house. Also I clean the bathroom right before you come and there isn’t any need to clean it all over again. Also I keep things in my cupboards that aren’t for your perusal. For instance, a shamefully large liquor collection, which I know you disapprove of, and a whole bunch of really ugly wedding gifts that I’m afraid you will discover at the very back of the cupboard under a layer of dust.
Please, understand that I need some privacy in my own home. Yes, you are family, but you are a guest here. There’s a fine line between appropriate thoughtfulness from a guest, and inappropriate making-yourself-at-home. Maybe you haven’t even crossed it—maybe it’s just my hangup. But I really wish I knew how to discuss it without coming across as an ingrate.
4. I already have a mother. I do not want you to be my mother; I do not want to be your little friend. Accept the fact that I try my hardest to respect you as my MIL. You make it tough to do even that.
5. If you need something done, call your son that ISN'T married or has children. My husband has responsibilities to me and my son; we have no time to deal with you.
posted by True MIL Confessions at 3:00 PM
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