I (Kaori) live with my husband, Shinichi, and our 3-year-old daughter, Karin. My mother-in-law, father-in-law, and grandmother-in-law all lived together in the family home. My grandmother-in-law is the type who always wants things her way and constantly meddles in our lives. Whenever my husband or I were at our wit’s end, my mother-in-law was always there to act as our shield. On the flip side, she was the one constantly enduring the grandmother-in-law’s nasty comments. According to my husband, she insisted that we “just leave it alone,” so no one knew how to help her. Four years went by, and then my father-in-law suddenly passed away. This left only my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law alone in that house.
We were so worried about how things would go at the family home after my father-in-law died. So, this turn of events actually came as a bit of a relief to us. My mother-in-law had endured years of harassment from the grandmother-in-law. Maybe she felt that since my father-in-law was gone, she no longer had any obligation to serve her. Or maybe she had just reached her breaking point and needed to escape. Whatever the reason, both my husband and I were glad that she finally took a stand after always saying she was “fine.” On the other hand, we’re now stuck wondering what to do about the grandmother-in-law… Our list of problems just keeps growing.