Son’s Wife Babysat Mother-in-Law All Vacation, Still Gets Banned From Future Vacation

Navigating family dynamics can be a challenging aspect of any vacation. While travel offers an opportunity to bond and create lasting memories, it can also unveil underlying tensions and conflicts within a family. From managing differing preferences and expectations to addressing long-standing issues, the dynamics between family members can significantly influence the overall travel experience. Balancing individual needs with collective desires is often a delicate task, requiring patience, understanding, and effective communication to ensure a harmonious and enjoyable trip for everyone involved.

For the OP, a recent trip to multiple Asian countries with her mother-in-law highlighted this in vivid detail. Despite her claims of being easygoing, the MIL’s behaviour proved otherwise, demanding constant attention and care from the family due to her severe separation anxiety and abandonment issues. This resulted in an unbalanced and sometimes stressful travel experience, with the family constantly prioritizing the MIL to avoid her tantrums. For the OP, the breaking point came when she chose to step back and become the unpaired outsider, bringing a palpable sense of relief to the MIL. A minor incident over a breakfast choice further exacerbated tensions, leading to OP being blamed for ruining the trip and subsequently being banned from future family vacations.

Continue scrolling down to delve into the full story.

Source: Reddit

1. OP spent the vacation catering to MIL’s needs, yet she complained and accused OP of ruining the trip.

2. On an extended vacation across Asia with MIL and family, OP encountered challenges due to MIL’s severe separation anxiety, abandonment issues, and depression. Despite her high-maintenance nature, MIL insists she’s easygoing.

3. In the family, there’s an unspoken rule that MIL always comes first to avoid her tantrums and pouting. To maintain peace, everyone caters to her sensitive moods and desires.

4. OP was unprepared for the extent of MIL’s neediness on vacation. Travelling in an odd-numbered group meant someone always sat alone in taxis or trains.

5. Mother-in-law could never be left alone and always required company while travelling. In a bold move, OP chose to sit by herself, which instantly improved MIL’s mood.

6. One morning, DH and OP enjoyed yoghurt in the kitchen. When MIL entered and complained about not being invited, DH responded, “You don’t even like yoghurt?”

7. By the end of the trip, OP heard accusations of ruining the vacation by excluding MIL. Consequently, OP is now banned from joining any future trips with MIL, requiring DH and OP to travel separately.

Now that you have read the story, it’s time to see what Redditors said about this. Read till the end to see what are other people’s opinions on this. 

8. Another Redditor shared her story about travelling with her mother-in-law who is just like OP’s mother-in-law. Her MIL has quite a list of dietary restrictions. She claims vegetables give her leg cramps, can’t handle spicy or oily foods, only wants chicken but not steamed, and the list goes on.

9. They were all hungry and frustrated, so she got a McNuggets meal. Shockingly, MIL reached for Redditor deep-fried nuggets and fries. When DH questioned her about her dietary restrictions, she simply said she was hungry. They were left speechless.

10. OP should feel relieved. She now has a perfect excuse to avoid being around her MIL in the future.

11. She can’t dictate your choices. If you and your husband want to travel, go ahead, and she can stay behind. Don’t sacrifice for her unreasonable demands.

12. Don’t let MIL dictate your trips; book your own tickets and hotels. It’s your vacation too; why miss out? It’s wasteful to split trips just for her.

13. OP’s husband should stand up to his family and refuse to join trips if OP is excluded. If he goes without her, that’s really disappointing.

14. Your husband should either confront her or forgo the lavish vacations.

15. Why would he join a trip where you’re excluded? He should prioritize vacationing with you over family trips.

16. This situation is ridiculous. Why travel twice for someone who banned you for no reason?

17. Is your husband really okay with going on these trips without you? That’s concerning.

18. Two trips? Absolutely not! You and your husband should go together. Don’t miss out because of her.

19. Poor thing, she sounds incredibly narcissistic. Why should your husband go on trips twice?

20. If two trips are needed (though they shouldn’t be), OP and her husband should go first for “tourist reconnaissance” to find the best spots for MIL’s visit.

Despite the best efforts to accommodate her needs and moods, the vacation turned out to be far from relaxing for OP. Facing criticism and blame for the trip’s perceived failure, OP finds herself unjustly banned from future family trips. Other Redditors felt the same way and even told OP to consider this ban as a blessing in disguise as she won’t have to bear her mother-in-law on future trips. This experience underscores the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing one’s well-being when dealing with challenging family relationships, even if it means missing out on shared experiences. Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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