**Every Day with My MotherinLaw: How She Turned My Life into a Nightmare**
**No Day Without Her: How This Woman Made My Existence Hellish**
When Théo and I got married, the first choice we madewhat seemed the wisest at the timewas to set up home far from either of our parents. He worked as an engineer for a rather upscale private firm, and I had poured the proceeds from my grandmothers apartment sale into a mortgage. We began building our nest, dreaming of peace, tenderness, and a little family of our own. Who could have guessed that his mother would move in with us
She didnt actually live under our roof, but her presence was felt everywhere: in every electrical outlet, every cupboard, every spoon. No decisionwhether it was buying a kettle, new curtains, or even a simple bath matescaped her input.
If I dared suggest changing the drapes, she would appear instantly, arms full of binders, catalogs, and endless advice. For holidays she drafted scripts as if we were entering an amateur theater contest. Once we planned a New Years getaway in a mountain chalet with friends. Everything was booked, groceries bought, transport arranged. Yet she turned it into such a theatrical scene that even Stanislavski would have tipped his hat. Tears, accusations, lamentations: A night like this and you abandon your mother! In the end we stayed home, lost the money, while she critiqued TV performers from her armchair like an empress.
When I finally became pregnant, Théo and I wanted to turn the guest room into a nursery. We barely mentioned it The next morning she was on our doorstep, two workers at her side and rolls of wallpaper under her arm. I didnt even have a chance to speakrenovations had already begun. According to her plans. Her colors. Her vision. And I stood there, in my own house, feeling like an intruder.
I told my husband a hundred times that it was overwhelming, that I no longer felt at home, that I wanted to choose my own itemsfrom wallpaper to dishsponges. He always answered the same way: Mom just wants to help. She has good taste. Its all out of love. And what about me? My wishes? My taste? Does none of that matter just because I havent given birth to a wonderful son?
Then came the climax. She arrived one day announcing triumphantly: Théo and I are going on vacation. Greece. I need to recharge; I carry everything on my shoulders. I was seven months pregnant, speechless. My husband stammered that he couldnt let her leave alone. I said clearly: if he goes with her, he can forget he has a wife.
The fallout? She burst into our home screaming that I was jealous, that she had birthed and raised my husband and that I was an ungrateful stranger. She claimed I couldnt leave because of my big belly, and that now I was preventing her from breathing a little after this thankless life. In short, she claimed to do everything for us, and we
I no longer know whats fair. Im exhausted living as three people in a marriage meant for two. I dont want war, but I cant accept this either. I feel myself fadingas a woman, a wife, a future mother. I fear that once the baby arrives shell not only pick out diapers but also decide his name, school, friends
Ladies, do you have any tips for surviving a golden motherinlaw? Or is it a lost cause, and should I simply resign myself, knowing shell remain until the endlike a shadow, a voiceover, always louder than mine?
Tell me everything. I dont know how to keep fighting this circus any longer.
Every Day with My Mother-in-Law: How She Turned My Life into a Nightmare
