**Diary Entry A Lesson in Family Boundaries**
My wifes sister has decided that we alone are responsible for spoiling her childrenno one else.
I married Andrew nearly eight years ago. A good man, always ready to help, with a heart as wide as the Thames. But he had one problema sister. Margaret. A woman with boundless imagination and an uncanny ability to twist any innocent remark into a veiled request for something expensive.
She never spoke directly. Her words always carried a hint of suggestion:
*”The children have been dreaming of seeing that new animated film, but tickets are dreadfully pricey these days,”* shed sigh mournfully. And Andrew, without hesitation, would buy the tickets, take the kids to the cinema, and treat them to buckets of popcorn.
*”Lovely weather, isnt it?”* Margaret would continue. *”Shame to waste it indoors. You should take them to the fair!”* And guess who ended up footing the bill? Us, of course.
Ive never been one for subtlety. Frankly, I prefer plain speaking. If you need something, just ask. Dont dance around it pretending you dont. But Andrew always leapt at her “suggestions.” He adored his nieces and nephews to bits, but the way he spoiled them knew no limits. Bikes, gadgets, days outit all became routine. One look from Margaret, and off hed dash.
Recently, it was little Olivers birthdayMargarets son. Wed already splashed out on a top-notch bicycle, costing us a pretty penny. I thought that was more than enough. But to Margaret, a bike was mere pocket change. In her eyes, the boy simply *had* to go to Paris. And naturally, not aloneshe had to tag along. *”A child cant travel by himself!”*
In Margarets language, it sounded like this:
*”Olivers been daydreaming about Paris. His eyes light up whenever its mentioned”*
But this time, Andrew brought his nephew a cake and a cushion embroidered with his initials instead of tickets. I was at work that day, so my husband went alone. Needless to say, his sister was livid.
Margaret didnt give up. Her demands only grew year after year. Andrew, bless him, never seemed to mind. We didnt have kids of our own, so he poured all his fatherly energy into his nieces and nephews. Maybe he just needed an outlet.
Then came the news wed waited forI was pregnant. When I told Andrew, he wept with joy, kissed my belly, and couldnt stop grinning. Hed wanted this for years. But then Margaret swooped in again.
This time, it was a *”modest request”*a spring holiday in Prague. Naturally, with the children. For the first time ever, Andrew said no. He told her all our resources were now for our own family. Thats when his sister exploded.
The next day, she rang me, shrieking down the phone. *”How dare you?! Youve done this on purposestolen the only man who ever cared for my children!”* I hung up without a word.
Then came the real performance. The nieces and nephews waited outside Andrews office with handmade cards:
*”Uncle, please dont abandon us”*
*”Why do you need your own kids when youve already got us?”*
Someone had clearly coached them. And that *someone* was obvious.
Andrew came home, sank onto the sofa, stared at those cards and something inside him snapped.
*”Ive been a fool,”* he muttered. *”How many years have I put up with this? The boilers broken, I cant afford winter coats, Dad ran offUncle, we need you. Shes always used the kids to manipulate me. And I fell for it. Like an idiot.”*
Then, out of nowhere, he grabbed a notebook and started scribblingbikes, phones, summer camps, holidays, jackets, theatre tickets. The total was staggering.
And then came Margarets grand finale.
She marched into our home, stood in the hallway like she owned the place, and announced:
*”Since youre having your own child now, how about one last good deed? Give us the car. Not for me, of coursejust for the children”*
Andrew handed her the notebook without a word.
*”This is what you owe us. Pay it back. Youve got six months. After thatcourt.”*
She stormed out, slamming the door so hard the coat rack toppled over.
Then the messages flooded in. Margarets friends bombarded me on social media, wailing about how Id destroyed the *”sacred bond between uncle and nieces”*how the children were now *”starving and abandoned,”* and their mother *”utterly heartbroken.”*
But I didnt budge.
Margaret owns two flatsone from her ex-husband, the other because Andrew waived his inheritance in her favour. She gets child support; shes not penniless. Shes just grown used to taking. And now, the wells run dry.
Were having a baby. And at last, my husband has a real familyno guilt trips, no theatrics, no strings attached.
And you know what? I think this is only the beginning.
**Lesson learned:** Blood may be thicker than water, but some people will drown you in it if you let them. Set boundariesbefore someone else draws them for you.
