“My Mother-in-Law Treats Me Like a Maid”: She Keeps Saying I’m Lucky to Have a House to Clean
My name is Hailey, and I am a 34-year-old mother of two beautiful children, Madeline and Justin. My husband, Gregory, and I have been married for ten years, and we are planning to have a third child. Life should be perfect, but there is one major issue that casts a shadow over our happiness: my mother-in-law, Lillian.
Lillian is 57 years old, but you wouldn’t know it from the way she behaves. She acts more like a spoiled child than a grown woman. Gregory is her only son, and she has always been overly attached to him. He loves his mother dearly and supports her in everything, which I understand to some extent. However, Lillian takes full advantage of this, and it has become a significant problem in our marriage.
From the moment we got married, Lillian has treated me like her personal maid. She constantly makes snide comments about how lucky I am to have a house to clean and how I should be grateful for the opportunity to take care of her son. It’s as if she believes that my sole purpose in life is to serve her and Gregory.
Whenever she visits, which is far too often for my liking, she leaves a trail of mess behind her. She never lifts a finger to help with anything and expects me to clean up after her. If I dare to ask her to pick up after herself, she throws a tantrum, accusing me of being ungrateful and disrespectful.
Gregory, bless his heart, tries to mediate, but he always ends up siding with his mother. He tells me that Lillian is just set in her ways and that I should be more understanding. But how can I be understanding when she treats me like a servant in my own home?
One particularly frustrating incident happened last Thanksgiving. We had invited Lillian over for dinner, and I had spent the entire day cooking and cleaning to make sure everything was perfect. As soon as she arrived, she started criticizing everything from the decorations to the food. She even had the audacity to tell me that my turkey was dry and that I should have followed her recipe instead.
After dinner, while I was cleaning up, Lillian sat in the living room with Gregory, complaining about how tired she was from all the “hard work” she had done. Gregory, of course, sympathized with her and told me to finish up quickly so I could join them. I was fuming, but I bit my tongue and finished cleaning.
The final straw came a few weeks ago when Lillian decided to stay with us for an entire month. She claimed she needed a break from her own home and wanted to spend time with her grandchildren. I was hesitant, but Gregory insisted it would be good for the kids to have their grandmother around.
From the moment she arrived, it was a nightmare. She took over our bedroom, leaving Gregory and me to sleep on the couch. She refused to help with the children, saying she was too old to be running after them. Instead, she spent her days lounging around, watching TV, and making more messes for me to clean up.
One evening, after a particularly exhausting day, I finally snapped. I told Gregory that I couldn’t take it anymore and that Lillian needed to leave. He looked at me with disappointment and said, “Hailey, she’s my mother. We can’t just kick her out.”
I felt a wave of hopelessness wash over me. I realized that as long as Lillian was in our lives, I would always be second to her. Gregory would always choose his mother over me, and I would always be treated like a maid in my own home.
Now, as I sit here writing this, I am filled with a sense of dread. I love Gregory and our children, but I don’t know how much longer I can endure this. The thought of bringing another child into this toxic environment terrifies me. I feel trapped, with no way out.