Our life is a chain of interconnected events and situations, where one incident can trigger another, then a third, and so on. We may not even realize how complex our life situation is until something, sometimes quite minor, becomes a reason to reconsider everything.
The ust antale we're about to tell you today, from the user u/april___sky___, is just another such story. The narrator felt for a long time that nothing bad was happening in her life - until finally, the disrespectful attitude of her in-laws led her to completely rethink her entire life.
More info: Reddit
Sometimes, some cause in our life, even the pettiest thing, actually leads us to bigger consequences, making us reconsider our entire life
Image credits: benzoix / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author of the post lives with her husband in his parents' home basement, and the in-laws are actually quite toxic
Image credits: Anna Tolipova / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The in-laws made themselves a habit of regularly criticizing the author's cooking, for Thanksgiving or Christmas
Image credits: TriangleProd / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman sometimes complained to her husband, but he just didn't want to confront his parents
Image credits: Anna Tolipova / Freepik (not the actual photo)
So the author decided to put her foot down and refuse to cook for her in-laws from now on
Image credits: april___sky___
Moreover, the woman wanted to rethink her life and marriage as well, and took it online, seeking support
The Original poster (OP) and her husband live in his parents' basement, ostensibly to save up money to buy their own home someday. However, according to our heroine, time passes, and they are still no closer to a new home for their family. Furthermore, the in-laws, as the OP explains, developed a habit of criticizing her cooking skills.
Every time the original poster cooked for Thanksgiving or Christmas, her mother-in-law would constantly comment on how ugly and/or tasteless the meals were. This always upset the author immensely, and she complained to her husband, but he preferred to avoid confrontation with his parents.
If you thought the couple didn't pay rent, you're definitely mistaken. The original poster explains that they pay rent, utilities, and Wi-Fi (which doesn't stop the mother-in-law from "occasionally" turning off the router, even knowing her daughter-in-law works from home). The author's husband also pays for his brother's education and allowance.
And now the original poster has decided to take the issue head-on. First, she declared that she no longer plans to cook for Christmas or Thanksgiving for the in-laws, who don't appreciate her. Secondly, the woman decided to spend the holidays with her relatives to "recharge her batteries" and reflect on her life as a whole, including her future plans.
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)
"In fact, the cooking situation was likely the last straw for this woman, a reason to seriously reconsider her life and wonder if it's really the one she actually wanted," says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. "Because, judging by her stories, the in-laws were more than toxic."
The expert believes that the husband's parents are simply using him and his wife as sources of additional income and "labor force," but, unlike in some similar situations, they didn't even bother to create an emotionally comfortable environment for them. Incidentally, Irina believes that the husband is also responsible for the current situation.
"For this man, the moment has come when he must choose the path of a husband or the path of a son. To begin the difficult but necessary process of separating from his parents or risk his marriage, not wanting to ruin his relationship with his mother. And, I hope, it won't be too late to save this relationship," Irina Matveeva sums up.
Most people in the comments unanimously gave the author their full support, claiming that she acted absolutely correctly. And perhaps her only mistake here is that she should've staged this confrontation earlier. "Tell them you are sick of the complaints," one of the responders wrote reasonably. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this story?
The majority of commenters supported the woman, claiming that she was absolutely right to do it this way
