When my daughter got married, I swore I would never take advantage of her husband.
My new son-in-law is a HVAC tech, but I already had a HVAC company. I planned on always using my own HVAC technicians and not being one of those mother-in-laws who want free work done all the time. While my daughter was visiting last week, the air conditioning wasn’t working very well. She commented on how warm it was in the kitchen. I told her I called the HVAC company and they were to be there on the next day. She frowned and asked why I didn’t call and ask Paul to look at the AC unit? I reminded her that I promised to never be that type of mother-in-law. I was able to take care of my home without trying to interfere in their time. She got very angry with me and told me I was being ridiculous. Naturally, my response was to tell her I thought it was time to go home. I was still her mother and she was not going to disrespect me in my own home. She was the one who had told me she worried that having a husband who was a HVAC technician was going to be a problem with the family. I handed her her purse and held the door open. I felt guilty when she huffed out, but I had a HVAC company and a maintenance and repair agreement. Paul was already working, and he wanted to come home to his wife, and not to work on her mother’s air conditioning unit.