Maintaining a good relationship with in-laws is one of the major concerns of many married women. It is expected for the wife to put in effort and be more considerate even when she may not receive the same from the other end.
Several stories show how unreasonable in-laws can get at times. Recently a woman shared how her mother-in-law tried to guilt trip her into paying for her husband’s birthday dinner. She was expected to pay not just for the family but for eight people. The total could have surpassed $1300, which is a steep amount for many households.
Moreover, birthdays should be celebrated according to how one feels, which is the best way to commemorate the day. Some people like at home private celebrations. On the other hand, some may like clubbing or dinner at extravagant places.
Even a backyard birthday party can be celebratory without putting a hole in someone’s pocket. In this woman’s story, she discussed how her mother-in-law gave her a list of people to invite to the birthday, make reservations, and call everyone.
It would have been a surprise birthday party for her husband. She was elated about how the day was going to be amazing. Marriage is hard when you have such in-laws!
The mother-in-law didn’t just stop at expecting a birthday dinner but also wanted to rent a luxury car that would have cost $1300. So, if we add dinner and presumably a gift, the woman would have needed to spend thousands for a birthday celebration. The woman explained to the mother-in-law that they have their own weekend plans as they go away to celebrate. Netizens have called the MIL a narcissist.
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So she clearly cannot afford to spend so much. The woman received a text from the MIL asking if they needed help to pay for the dinner. She asked the netizens if this was normal and what she should do. This is one of those AITA situations where the woman is clearly NTA.
The message made the woman feel uncomfortable if she wanted to mention everyone should pay for themselves. Her husband ended up receiving a call from the father-in-law saying they thought the couple was in a good place to pay for everyone. They canceled the whole dinner party, making her husband feel like the bad guy. Many people aren’t lucky enough to get good in-laws.
Mother in laws who treat their child’s husband/wife like their own are under appreciated and so special. I’m sick of hearing nightmare stories, I only want to hear the good ones
— 🇱🇧🇱🇧🇱🇧 (@sweethartsami) June 10, 2023
They are NTAs here, and they should not be asked to pay for the dinner that his parents want them to have. The parents may throw the birthday party as a surprise and organize it themselves if that’s what they want to do.
They should not get to tell the couple what they expect out of them or how much they are willing to spend. Since mother-in-law came up with the dinner plan and guest list, she is more than welcome to pay for the celebration and not cancel it. Her canceling the dinner just shows how much she was expecting from the DIL.
