З життя
Against His Wife’s Wishes, He Invited His Mother Over to Meet His Newborn Granddaughter.
Against his wifes wishes, he invited his mother over to see his newborn granddaughter.
My mother has always been a nightmare when it comes to communication; she never respects anyones boundaries. She never liked my wife, not for any particular reason, merely because I had married her and she could not stand the distance I kept from her.
Three weeks ago my wife, Dorothy, gave birth to a little girl.
My mother insisted on being present in the delivery suite, but Dorothy wanted me alone to be there. So while Dorothy was in labour, my mother loitered in the hospital lobby, shouting down the whole wing that she deserved to witness the birth of her grandchild.
Whenever my mother stepped foot in our cottage she clung to every object and condemned Dorothy, calling her a poor housewife. She even went so far as to claim that Dorothy would be a terrible mother.
Those remarks broke Dorothys patience. She gave me an ultimatum: my mother would no longer set foot in our home. I understood her completely; no one likes to be humiliated in his own house.
When we finally brought the baby home, the grandparents wanted to meet her.
Dorothy said my motherinlaw could come once, but only if she kept quiet. My mother promised she would honour the request, yet the moment she crossed the threshold she peppered us with remarks:
It’s filthy in here. If youre going to live like this, keep it that way. But out of respect for me, you could at least tidy up.
Dorothy lost her temper and told her that she no longer had any visiting rights and that the child could be seen only if we allowed it.
Nearly two weeks passed; the inlaws and even my father, George, had met the baby. My mother, however, still refused to leave, and Dorothy would not see her. We kept the baby indoors because the weather outside was dreadfully dreary.
The day before yesterday Dorothy had a doctors appointment, and I stayed at home with the infant. I used the opportunity to invite my mother again, saying we only had two hours before Dorothy returned. She refused to go, no matter how hard I tried to persuade her.
When Dorothy finally came back she found my mother cuddling the baby. The sight sent her into a complete nervous breakdownshe shouted at both of us, demanding my mother leave the house at once.
In my heart I told Dorothy to keep quiet and calm down, reminding her that it was my house as well as my baby, and if I wanted my mother to see them she could not forbid it, let alone throw her out.
Dorothy drove my mother and me out of the cottage. She refuses to speak to either of us now. I have moved back in with my parents, hoping that one day Dorothy will settle down again.
