I live with my husband, Koji, and our three daughters—Ayane (8th grade), Kaori (4th grade), and little Madoka, who’s six. I work from home while juggling everyone’s schedules, plus PTA duties for both the elementary school and kindergarten.
My biggest headache is Koji’s sister, Nao. She and my mother-in-law keep trying to treat her daughter, Rin, like a “fourth sister” to my girls, and they’re always trying to come over and hang out. I finally agreed to let the kids play, but Madoka came down sick, so I had to cancel. Even then, Nao sent a sudden “We’re coming over!” text and showed up anyway. There was no way I could let them in, but Koji still said, “But they came all this way…” Seriously?
Koji first blamed me for turning Nao away. But eventually he understood my side and promised that if he ever wants to invite Nao again, he’ll handle everything himself—no involving me.
And yet, when we visited his parents later, my mother-in-law brought the whole thing up again. From the way she spoke, it felt like Nao had twisted the story so that I was the bad guy. That was the moment my patience finally snapped.