When my husband, Ethan, came home that Sunday afternoon, something about his arrival felt off. His expression told me he had rehearsed what he was about to say. And when the words finally left his mouth, I couldn’t believe what he was saying.
My husband and his mother had decided, without me, that I should quit my job. At first, I thought it was a joke. A cruel, outdated, laughably ridiculous joke.
But as I looked at Ethan’s face, I knew he was serious. And worse? He actually believed what he was saying.
My husband and his mother thought my career didn’t matter. That I should be their personal housekeeper instead. I had been married to Ethan for two years, and for the most part, life was good.
We had a nice home, stable careers, and a routine that worked. I was a financial consultant at a company, and I loved my job. It paid well and gave me independence, which was something I had always valued.
But there was one ongoing complication. My mother-in-law, Diane. Ethan was, to put it mildly, a mama’s boy.
He listened to his mother’s advice like it was scripture, even when it made absolutely no sense. And Diane? She had opinions on everything.
How I should cook, what I should wear, when we should have kids, how I should “prioritize family over career.”
It was exhausting. But over time, I learned how to manage it. I picked my battles.
I found ways to gently steer Ethan away from her worst ideas. Like last Thanksgiving. Diane had suggested (read: loudly, in front of the whole family) that Ethan and I should get rid of our house cleaner.
“A wife should take care of the home, dear,” she had said, stirring her cranberry sauce with a knowing smile. “Not some stranger.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Ethan nodded along. “She has a point, Sophia.”
Oh, he was so sure of himself.
I took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to throw my mashed potatoes at him. Instead, I leaned in and smiled sweetly. “You’re absolutely right, Diane.
Which is why I think Ethan should start doing the deep cleaning himself. I mean, if a clean home is that important, it should be a shared responsibility, right?”
The look on Diane’s face was priceless. And Ethan?
He looked like he wanted to disappear. And just like that, the issue died that day. That was how I handled her.
Deflect, redirect, and, when necessary, serve her own logic back to her on a silver platter. But this time… this time, she had gone too far. I had never expected Ethan to blindly follow her into this level of insanity.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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