I’m Keiko, mom of three girls—Ayane (8th grade), Kaori (4th grade), and little Madoka who’s six. I work from home while juggling three different schedules, and I somehow ended up on both the elementary and kindergarten PTA.
What stresses me out most isn’t the workload… it’s my husband’s sister, Naoko. She loves dropping by our house, and together with my mother-in-law keeps insisting that her daughter, Rin, should be like a “little sister” to my girls. We promised a playdate out of courtesy, but I had to cancel when Madoka caught a bug. Even then, Naoko kept pushing—and honestly, it was a bit much.
I do feel bad for canceling. But when a child is sick, there’s nothing you can do. With chores and work piling up, my house was nowhere near guest-ready either. I thought we’d reschedule when things settled down
… but then Naoko just showed up unannounced. All she sent beforehand was a quick “We’re coming” text. No confirmation. No reply-wait. And then my husband said, “Well, they came all the way here…” No. Not this time. We need to have a real conversation about boundaries.