My husband and I had long come to terms with the idea that we might never have children. It was only a full decade after our wedding, when I was quite resigned, that I found myself unexpectedly expecting.
My mother-in-law, meanwhile, never missed a chance to make sport of me before my own family. She would always say, Its likely I wont have grandchildren from my younger son his wife cant have children, you see. Her words stung deeply, especially since she already had a granddaughterthe daughter of her elder son. I hated having to listen to it, but I had little choice, and the insults came more times than I care to count.
I love my husband dearly, and he loves me. He has always been my shelter. Together, we endured endless visits to specialists, his worries, and my quiet tears at night, buried in my pillow. All those years of longing were finally rewarded I fell pregnant!
Last year, my mother-in-laws granddaughter gave birth to a little girl. As for me, four months ago, I welcomed a son into the world. Even though the doctors insisted there was nothing amiss with either of us, my husband and I still can scarcely fathom how blessed we are to have been given this child.
But my grandmother-in-laws conduct after the births proved utterly unpredictable. The grandson she had supposedly yearned for so many yearsmy husband and our little boyseems to matter not a whit to her. Yet she positively dotes on her great-granddaughter.
Whenever the family gathers, every conversation seems to revolve around the great-granddaughter: how shes grown, her first words, how many teeth she has now… Its as if my boyperhaps a disappointment in her eyeshas been overlooked since the very day he arrived.
I simply cannot make sense of my mother-in-laws behaviour. After ten years of chastising me and making me feel unworthy for failing to live up to her familys expectations (for, according to her, every woman in their lineage bears children with ease), now that a son has been born, she hasnt so much as cradled him in her arms. Yet the great-granddaughter receives nothing but pampering and indulgencesplendid new dresses, expensive toys, and the finest little gold trinkets.
Its a strange and hurtful thing to look back on, and even now I wonder at the way some hearts can be so fickle, favouring one child over another for reasons I may never understand.
