A surprised friend asked, I do wonder why your husband didnt inherit anything. And surely their grandchildren could do with some help!
Oh, who can understand them? replied Mary. The youngest son is single and already has a three-bedroom flat in Kensington, plus two more two-bedroom flats. He even owns a three-storey country house. Clearly, thats never enough for him. And its all been handed to him by his parents! Meanwhile, my husband was left with absolutely nothing.
Mark and I have been married for twelve years now, and we have two children, ages six and ten. Ive always struggled with my in-laws, as they constantly tried to meddle in our lives, telling us what we should or shouldnt do. Marks mother was particularly difficultshe would criticise my choices and even insisted I call her mum.
I only have one mother. I dont need a second one, I firmly told my demanding mother-in-law.
Yet the real trouble started after our eldest was born. Victoria began dropping by unannounced, but I refused to let her in, ignoring her calls and knocks on the door. Eventually, I suppose she realised just how overbearing she was, because she finally backed off and stopped interfering.
With my own mother occasionally helping out, I managed just fine with the children. When the kids grew older, we moved away from their paternal grandmother altogether.
Marks parents were truly wealthy and clever people; they travelled around the world, hosted art exhibitions, and dined out with friends regularly. They rarely spoke to me or Mark, and even during holidays, wed often find out at the last minute that they were out of town.
Then, quite suddenly, we discovered that Marks parents had chosen to leave everything to his younger brother. I couldnt just let that go, so I decided to call my mother-in-law and ask for an explanation.
What did you expect? she replied. You never let me see my grandchildren, and you turned Mark against us. But our youngest son never forgot us! He calls and visits, so its only right that he gets everything.
Do you think Marks parents made the right decision?
