My husband comes from a wonderful family. Though his parents have a daughter of their own, they’ve always treated me like their own child.
My mother-in-law is a remarkably wise woman. We’ve never had a single argument—not even over trivial matters. She has a way of making suggestions so gently and tactfully that I’ve always taken them in stride.
My husband’s sister married years ago, but we were the ones who gave his parents their first grandchildren. Their daughter wanted to focus on herself for a while—she wasn’t ready for children yet.
My in-laws adore our kids. They spoil them with gifts now and then, doing everything they can to keep them happy.
My mother-in-law often says to me, “When will Sophie finally give us grandchildren? It would be lovely! She’s already thirty—it’s time she started thinking about it.”
Then, the long-awaited joy arrived. Sophie got pregnant. Everyone was thrilled—even my little daughter couldn’t wait to meet her cousin.
But later, something happened that really upset me.
I was out for a walk in the park with my son when a friend of mine came over. We got chatting, and she asked if Sophie had given birth yet. I told her it would happen any day now.
Then she said, “How do you feel about it? You know things will be different now, right? Your in-laws will have a grandchild who’s ‘really’ theirs—their own flesh and blood.”
I stared at her in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘really’ theirs?”
“Think about it! You gave your mother-in-law grandchildren, but now her actual daughter is having a baby.”
Her words sounded absurd to me. How could that be? Are a daughter’s children “real” grandchildren, but a son’s somehow less so? What nonsense!
I’m still sure nothing will change between me and my in-laws once Sophie’s baby arrives, but that conversation left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Do some grandmothers really see grandchildren differently, depending on whether they come from a son or a daughter?
