My husband and I have been saving up money to buy a house, so I started browsing through property listings. But as soon as my mother-in-law and his sisters heard about it, any enthusiasm I had for buying a home just disappeared. I sat there, tears welling up in my eyes.
Its true what people say: fire, water, and your husband can drive you out of your own home. At twenty-five, I married what I believed to be a handsome, intelligent, thoughtful man. We were living a happy married life.
Then I met his mother and his three older sisters. Imagine having a strained relationship with your mother-in-law. Well, I ended up with four of them at once. Together, my husband and I have been saving for a house. As it happened, I contributed more to the savings, since he had to help his three sisters financially and I did not. When we finally had a tidy sum set aside, we began planning to buy a place together, knowing wed need to arrange a mortgage.
My husband doesnt enjoy hunting for propertyhe finds it tediousso hes left all the decisions to me.
My mother-in-law invited us round to her house for a celebration. The occasion? The youngest sister had just graduated from university. “At last,” my husband sighed, “I wont have to send her money every month now.” Over dinner, the conversation turned to our plans for buying a house. My mother-in-law piped up, So, son, whats happening with this new house then? Are you looking at something big? I hope so. Well all need space, wont we?
My husband replied, Mum, I dont like searching for houses. Ive trusted Sarah to handle it. Shes much better at this sort of thing.
My mother-in-law scoffed. “Oh, come off it. Shell pick something that suits her, and what about all of us?”
I put my fork down, stopped chewing, and stared at her, stunned. One of the sisters chimed in:
What are you staring at? It’s trueyou only think about yourself. You havent once helped us out financially.
Thoughts swirled in my head: Youre the older sisters, still relying on your younger brother! Why dont you get jobs and learn to support yourselves, instead of bossing around your brother? Yet I didnt say a word. I picked up my fork and continued eating my salad in silence.
Meanwhile, my mother-in-law wanted a private chat with her son, leaving me alone in a room with his three sisters. For two minutes, silence weighed over us. Then the middle sister, Lucy, finally spoke. Sarah, pass the salt. Then Kate remarked, Ill pick the house. Because well have to live there too. Not you, it wont be up to you.
I tried to keep my cool and replied gently, The person who contributed to the savings should have a say in the decision. Thats when the youngest piped up, Who are you, to spend our money? Well decide. Weve always been the ones contributing, not you.
Ive been biting my tongue, and, for the most part, managed to stay calm. I hoped that talking things through would help settle everything. What do I do now?
