One of the key roles of being a family member is supporting your loved ones through special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, and important holidays.
But one woman on Reddit has bitten off more than she can chew after she took it upon herself to go “above and beyond” by hosting an impressive Mother’s Day lunch for her mother-in-law earlier in the year – because her in-laws now expect that level of luxury at every event.
She said: “I've been married to my husband for over a year now and I'm noticing my mother-in-law and father-in-law are starting to rely on me to host everything and make every occasion special for them.
“For example, this most recent Mother's Day, I hosted them both at my house for lunch. I made them food including a Mother's Day dessert and I also bought presents.
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“At the time, I was just trying to be nice because we bought a new house and it was also kind of a housewarming event so they could see the place, so I wanted to go above and beyond as a host.
“But I feel like I screwed myself over though because now I'm getting the impression that I need to do this for every occasion.”
The woman explained she’s now nine months pregnant and ready to give birth at any moment – but her in-laws are demanding she host her father-in-law’s birthday.
She added: “It's my father-in-law’s birthday soon and my mother-in-law called us that they're going to come over to our house and we're in charge for his birthday.
“I'm also nine months pregnant now and I'm just not in a place where I can clean my house, cook food, and make a birthday cake.”
The mum-to-be also doesn’t understand why she has to host the birthday celebrations because she still sees her father-in-law as a “stranger”.
She believes her mother-in-law should be the one making her husband’s birthday special, especially as she’s also struggling to cope under the pressure of being heavily pregnant.
She wrote: “It's also weird to me because that's my mother-in-law’s husband, like shouldn't she be the one doing everything for him? Why me? I'm only related to my father-in-law through marriage, but he's still a stranger to me in a way. I don't really want to be putting in all this effort for him.
“For background, whenever it's my dad's birthday, my mum just tells me when and where I need to be for the celebration. But my mum plans everything because that's her husband and it’s kind of her job to make his birthday special. That's just my perspective.”
Commenters on the Reddit post agreed with the woman, with many telling her that her husband needs to tell his parents they’re being “out of line”.
One person wrote: “As you are heavily pregnant, your husband needs to handle his mum and explain that she is out of line and that she will never tell you what you are or are not doing in your own home. She can plan her own husband’s birthday party and it will not be hosted at your home.”
While another said: “You need your husband to step in. At nine months pregnant, you shouldn’t be doing any of that. Tell him to deal with them or make the party himself. Be clear and direct.”
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
