I’m Miyuki, living with my husband Shinji and our daughter Akane, a 9th grader. My in-laws live nearby, along with Shinji’s sister Honoka and her 12th-grade son, Taichi. One day, Taichi came over and took it upon himself to nearly finish a jigsaw puzzle Akane had been working so hard on. Instead of apologizing, the in-laws acted like Akane was the one in the wrong for getting upset. If they’re going to keep forcing her to just “suck it up,” I don’t need this relationship. And I definitely don’t need a father who won’t stand up for his own daughter. When I laid it all out for my husband…
My mother-in-law probably has this “perfect” ideal of the whole extended family and all the cousins getting along. But a relationship like that can’t survive when it’s built on one person doing all the sacrificing. When she tried to complain again, my husband finally stepped up and shut her down for good.
Shinji grew up always having to put his sister, Honoka, first, so I think that dynamic just felt normal to him. But as a parent, he has to be on Akane’s side. Once he realized that, he actually bowed and apologized to her, telling her how sorry he was. For us, there is no one in this world more important than Akane. I’m just glad my husband finally opened his eyes to that.