After my husband and I got married, I was over the moon with happiness, especially since, besides my husband, I also had a mother-in-law who was friendly with us. Still, it was difficult for us to develop a close relationship. Things carried on like this until I found out I was expecting.
While I was pregnant, everything went fairly smoothly. My mother-in-law offered advice, which I took sincerely, she shared stories, and guided me through the experience.
But once I became a mother, my own instincts took over to such a degree that I stopped heeding her suggestions. Sometimes I responded with coldness, although I tried my best to conceal my reluctance.
The real trouble began when I discovered she had thrown away all the baby items that had been given to me. My sister had passed along so many lovely things for the baby, almost brand new and barely worn. The quality was still excellent. As it turned out, my mother-in-law holds rather old-fashioned beliefs about using second-hand items. She believes that under no circumstance should babies wear things that belonged to other children.
Even when the clothes looked practically untouched, she tossed the whole lot into the rubbish bin.
At first, I didnt notice anything missing. Then one day, I remembered a beautiful pair of baby shoes Id seen and, upon searching, could not find a single item. When I asked her about it, she admitted shed thrown them away. Normally, Im not someone who loses their temper over small things, but this felt utterly unacceptable. To this day, I still struggle to forgive my mother-in-law for what she did.
Why couldnt she have simply asked me first?
