I grew up in a modest, ordinary family. I hold two university degrees and speak two foreign languages fluently. I work as a translator and have my own family nowa loving husband and three children. My husband and I were friends for several years before we got married, so we know each other very well. We love each other, and though, like in any marriage, disagreements occasionally arise, we both try our best to resolve them quickly. We have our own house, which we bought with a mortgage.
All without family support.
My parents live quite far away, so I dont visit them often. At nineteen, I moved away for university, and since then Ive been living independently. I spent eight years studying before getting married. Everything I havemy education, my job, my comfortable lifeI achieved entirely on my own. I worked while studying to support myself. I always sent packages and gifts to my parents and younger sister, trying to show them my love and respect. Until recently, I believed those feelings were reciprocated.
My sister, Emily, is a bit of a unique case. Shes six years younger than me, married, and has a son. Emily lives in her husbands one-bedroom flat. After finishing secondary school, she didnt pursue further education or find a job. She says simple jobs dont pay well, and she doesnt feel shes got the knack for more promising careers (really, after school, she should have continued her studies rather than getting married so quickly).
There isnt much love between Emily and her husband. But they stay together to avoid disrupting their sons life; its more habit than anything else. They dont have much money, which is why they cant afford a bigger place. Emily’s lucky, though, as her mother-in-law is always willing to help with the boy. Emily often visits our parents, leaving her son with them for the entire summer.
Recently, as has become tradition over the years, my parents came to visit us again. We were sitting around the table when my mum suddenly said, James, you should have married our Emily. You two would make a much better pair than Sophie. A wife should be calm and adaptable, like Emily. Sophie is a bit too spirited. She needs to control herself. Honestly, thats a terrible flaw for a woman.
At these words, I nearly choked on my juice. My husband was utterly speechless, and my father coughed pointedly.
You see, I keep the house tidy. Our children are well brought-up, clothed, fed, not spoiled. I speak two languages, have a respectable professionand apparently Im not a match for my own husband! I wanted to ask my mother:
Tell me, dear Mum, if I had a softer temperament, would I have achieved everything I have now? Doesnt the fact that my husband loves me and we have a good family show were perfectly suited? Thanks to both our efforts, our children get to go on holiday twice a year. Could Emily or I have even dreamed of such a thing as kids? Mum visits rarely, never helps in any way, and still tells me whos right for whom!
My dad and husband were truly displeased with what mum had to say about me.
And just to clarify, this isnt childish jealousy over Emily. Its genuine hurt from the unfair words of the person dearest to memy mother.
