I’m Seira. I live with my husband Kotaro, our four-year-old daughter, and our two-year-old son. Our apartment is right on my in-laws’ property. My big issue, though, was that my mother-in-law kept using her spare key to come in whenever she wanted. Then one day, our whole family came down with a contagious bug, and I ended up with a high fever of 102°F. I explicitly told her, “Please, whatever you do, stay out of our place”… but completely ignoring my protests, she immediately sprang into action for us.
This round of illness was brutal, both physically and mentally. I could barely even sit up with my burning fever, yet I still had to take care of the kids. But the ones who came to my rescue weren’t my own parents… it was my in-laws.
My mother-in-law took care of not just the kids, but me as well. My father-in-law ran around picking up prescriptions and groceries. For the first time, I was freed from taking care of everyone else and could finally fall asleep with complete peace of mind. Having someone to rely on takes such a weight off your shoulders… That day, I felt a deep, renewed sense of gratitude for them.