At six oclock in the morning, my husband pushed me out of bed. At first, I thought it was an awkward accident, but when it happened again the very next day, I knew something was off. This all started after we visited his mother in a small village.
We had only been married for half a year, but after this incident, I was completely resolved to file for divorce. The reason why my husband treated me this way left me dumbfounded. Let me explain what happened.
I grew up in London and never once had a reason to rise early. These days, I work for an international company, so my work schedule is often shifted to night hours. When its day here, its night in their offices across the world, so I have to work quite late.
My husband, John, comes from a small English village, the kind where everyone is up with the sunrise. Even after moving to the city, he kept those habitshe wakes at six and expects bacon and eggs, with a mug of tea, on the table.
I always have breakfast at seven sharp, he told me when we first met.
I just laughed at the time, thinking it would hardly be an issue. Besides, after a nights work, I could occasionally treat myself to a nap in the afternoon.
For the first six months of our marriage, everything felt perfectly fine. I did my best to keep up with his routines, when I remembered, and we managed to compromise. It seemed that everything between us was going really well.
But after we visited his mother, things took a turn. His mum lives in a quaint little village, in an old but charming cottage. When I first saw it, I thought I was in for a real country idyllfresh scones, a roaring fire, long chats over a cup of tea. The reality, though, was quite different.
Within just a few hours of arriving, it was clear there would be no such idyll. My mother-in-law always seemed to find a reason to make a remark.
The real trouble started the very next morning.
She needs to be woken up as we do here, Johns mother said over breakfast while I was still asleep. As I later found out, my husband decided to follow her advice and teach me to wake up early, as per the old village ways.
When I was first pulled from the bed by force, I was stunned.
What on earth are you doing?! I demanded, both fuming and startled.
You dont hear your alarm. Mother says this is the only way youll actually wake up, he replied, completely unfazed.
But I work nights! I need to get enough sleep to function properly!
Its just how things are in our family, John insisted, as though that excused everything.
The next morning was the same. It felt like John and his mother were deliberately tormenting me.
I couldnt understand how the man I intended to spend my life with could change so quickly under his mothers influence.
When we got back to our flat in the city, John seemed like a different person. He constantly repeated, Mother knows best. His stubbornness convinced me we really were too different.
Now, Im getting the paperwork ready for a divorce. I just dont have the patience anymore.
What would you have done in my place? Or perhaps, I really have rushed my decision?
