I’m Hozumi, 40 years old, balancing work and life as a stay-at-home mom. I’ve got a family of four: my husband, our 9th-grade daughter, Yuuka, and our 7th-grade son, Keito. We had plans to visit my late father-in-law’s grave with my mother-in-law, who lives nearby. Since I’d recently been in a minor fender bender and wasn’t feeling up to driving, I asked my husband if we could just meet his mom there. But she pushed back, and he broke his promise to me. I was so fed up with him constantly putting his mother first that I packed up and headed to my parents’ place. They were shocked to see me out of the blue, but they welcomed me with open arms.
I ended up back at my parents’ on a whim, but after accepting my husband’s apology, I joined the kids and my parents for dinner and had a great time. Then, the four of us headed home together. Seeing the relief on my daughter’s face made me realize how much I’d worried her, and I feel bad about that. I’ll definitely have to make it up to the kids somehow. I know my husband will probably always be a bit too concerned about his mother. But I won’t tolerate him breaking promises to me ever again. He’s clueless and doesn’t always read the room, but he does have a kind side… So, I think I’ll try to keep making this marriage work, one way or another.