“Youve gotten so ugly, youre definitely having a girl,” my mother-in-law used to say to me.
Whenever I heard others complain about not getting along with their in-laws, I couldnt relate. With my husbands parents, things were finebut that was probably because we moved 200 miles away almost right after the wedding. I barely had time to get to know my new “mum.” We stayed at their place for a week after the reception, and everything was lovely then. But then we moved, and my husband was stationed with the military.
We lived there for ten years. Then, out of the blue, my husband got transferred back to his hometown. Honestly, it wasnt the best newsId settled in nicely, wed been given a proper house, and I was expecting our third child. But what can you do?
I gave birth back in his hometown. A year later, I was pregnant againunplanned, unprepared, but wed always wanted a big family, so we didnt overthink it. During the pregnancy, my “mum” came over to “help.” Shed pop by every now and then, but instead of lifting a finger, shed just sit there sipping tea and dishing out advice.
I could ignore the comments about cleaning and housework. But when she started lecturing me on raising kids? Thats when I saw red. It really hit me how uncomfortable it wasthis woman who barely knew me, hadnt seen me in a decade, and only knew her grandkids from photos, suddenly acting like she had a say in everything.
Then, when I was eight months along, she said, “Oh, youre definitely having a girl this time!”
We *wanted* a girlafter three boys! So I smiled and asked, “What makes you say that?”
“Youve aged terribly, love. Your face is all puffy. A daughters stolen whats left of your looks.”
“Cheers for that,” I said dryly. “I was like this in every pregnancy.”
“Not like *this*,” she shot back.
“How would you know? Youve only seen photos of me pregnant.”
“Dont argue with me. When I had my son, I was glowingeveryone said so. You? You look frightful. Swollen up like youre full of water. Cant even fit your feet in slippers anymore.”
I didnt say a word. Didnt tell her it wasnt the babys genderit was the fact I was 39. Shed had my husband at 19. At that age, everyones fresh-faced. Shed called me ugly plenty of times before. My husband finally put a stop to it. And, just for the recordwe had another boy.
