I’m Noriko Suzuki, 48. I lost both my parents when I was young and grew up in foster care. While working at a foreign-owned company, I built assets through real estate investing and took early retirement at 45. After that, I married my husband, Hironari (50), and we moved to the suburbs.
Soon after, my sister-in-law Yumi (42) asked me to help care for her husband Atsuki’s mother, Kagawa (79), who lives nearby. When I refused, Yumi and my mother-in-law Yurie (75) told me that since I’m a stay-at-home wife, it’s only natural for me to take care of relatives. They even said I was refusing because I “don’t know what a normal family is.” Conflicted and hurt, I talked to my longtime friend Namie from my foster care days, who told me, “If it’s for your own happiness, it’s okay to walk away.” Her words gave me the push I needed.
After reconnecting with Namie and sorting out my feelings, I stopped being directly involved with Kagawa and forwarded every call to my sister-in-law instead. Hironari, now asked by Yumi to handle Kagawa’s care, was overwhelmed and came to me for help. But knowing that if I stepped in, everything would be dumped back on me again, I chose to stay out of it.
Then we got a call saying Kagawa had gone outside in just her underwear and caused a scene. Feeling he’d reached his limit, Hironari asked me to find a care facility for her. I snapped back, “Why is that my job?” and we got into a heated argument. In the middle of all this, my mother-in-law suddenly showed up at our house.