A year had passed since the birth of our first child. It was a huge milestone for our whole family, so my in-laws decided to give us a rather grand presentthey offered us their own flat. Of course, that kind of news should have brought us nothing but joy, but, to be honest, I couldn’t shake off the urge to return to our old rented place, and I couldn’t help but think my in-laws were partially to blame for that feeling.
After our wedding, my wife and I settled for a small rented flat. We both worked hard and always paid our rent on time, all the while dreaming of eventually saving up to rent a proper house of our own. Then, quite unexpectedly, we found out that my wife was pregnant. We had planned on postponing children for a few more years, but, as fate would have it, life made its own plans for us. When my parents learned they were soon to become grandparents, they decided to go all out to make life as comfortable as possible for our new arrival.
With great generosity, my in-laws bought themselves a cottage in the countryside and offered us their spacious two-bedroom flat. They were well-off, so they redecorated and even helped us replace our old furniture with newer pieces. We were grateful for their kindness, but we had no say at all in how the place was done up. We thanked them for the gift and moved in together, but little did we know that things would soon get rather complicated.
My in-laws began visiting frequently, making it a regular occurrence to pop round and rearrange things to their liking. I often felt more like a guest in my own home, without a real voice. My mother-in-law would go through our cupboards and pantry, sometimes even when we werent at home. My need for personal space was completely overlookedsometimes, even something as small as where a glass was kept would be subject to scrutiny. Every now and then, they would do a big tidy-up in the flat, chucking out things they felt were unnecessary, which meant we often spent hours trying to find belongings we needed.
Once, my father-in-law accidentally got rid of some important papers, leading to a row between him and my wife that resulted in months of awkward silence between them. Now, my wife and I are thinking hard about how to reclaim our independence, and were considering taking back the keys to the flat.
