The blood froze in my veins when I heard the click of the lock on our front door. It was her again — without warning, without a call, like a ghost from the past materializing in my new life. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried to set boundaries — Galina Petrovna always found a way to slip through them, like water seeping through cracks in a dam. At that moment, I vowed that this visit would be the last straw. I would find a way to put an end to this exhausting war with my mother-in-law, even if it meant taking extreme measures.
For almost ten years, Galina Petrovna and I managed to avoid frequent meetings. After the wedding, Anton and I moved to a country house I inherited from my great-grandmother. That’s where our son Kiryusha was born. The remoteness of our home was a real blessing — my mother-in-law had to travel a significant distance to visit us. Our rare meetings were enough to get a complete picture of this woman’s character.
“Alena, when was the last time you cleaned?” Galina Petrovna asked during one visit.
“What’s the problem?”
“All the shoes are covered in dust, that’s the problem! Do you even have a floor rag?”
“Galina Petrovna, first of all, we don’t have a rag, we have a modern mop. And secondly, we have a Labrador, so there’s more dirt than usual. Don’t worry, I clean twice a week, and the robotic vacuum runs every day.”
“You bought all these tech gadgets, but the result is zero! Everything needs to be cleaned by hand, wiped with a cloth inch by inch. Your fancy mops leave all the dirt in place. And those robots — a total waste of money.”
“Everything works perfectly, Galina Petrovna. That’s why I suggested you use indoor shoes — because light socks get dirty instantly.”
“Maybe I only wear them! You’re such an incompetent housekeeper, from what I can see. The house should be spotless, so white socks stay impeccably clean, as if just out of the washing machine.”
“I’ll take note.”
“You better listen to me, Alena. I have more experience than you. Follow my advice, and the house will always be perfect.”
“Uh-huh.”
Galina Petrovna constantly bothered me with unsolicited advice. And she did it not out of genuine desire to help, but with a sense of superiority, as if her son’s wife was completely useless. Fortunately, these visits were rare enough that I learned to let her words roll off my back. If she liked handing out advice, let her entertain herself. I would do things my own way anyway.
But the true nature of Galina Petrovna revealed itself fully when Anton and I decided to buy an apartment in the city.
“Toša, maybe we should move to the center?” I suggested to my husband.
“What’s wrong with our house?”
“It’s boring here,” I sighed. “It’s real countryside. Kiryusha has to spend forever going to school, and there are hardly any kids his age around. This place is great for those who value solitude — go out to the garden, mess with the plants, and that’s it. But I want it to be more interesting for us, and for our child to have more opportunities. There aren’t even many clubs here that our son would really want to attend.”
“Kiryusha doesn’t seem bored here.”
“He sits at home all day because he has no friends nearby, Toša! And he’s a very talented kid — he could be enrolled in a specialized school. Maybe he’d even lose some extra weight with a more active city lifestyle.”
“I don’t know…” Anton hesitated.
“Let’s at least discuss the possibility! I spent most of my life in a village where the only attractions were a small store and an abandoned house. I want some dynamics, new contacts…”
“All right, let’s think it through and weigh the pros and cons.”
About four months later, we dared to buy a city apartment and move to the metropolis. Kiryusha finished fourth grade, which coincided perfectly with the start of a new chapter in our family story.
Anton mostly worked from home but now could regularly visit the office instead of being stuck indoors or traveling to the city for days. I quickly found a suitable job at a sewing workshop. Sewing had always been my calling. We decided to rent out the country house — economically it made sense.
“Well, lucky ones, happy housewarming!” my mother-in-law showed up the very first evening. “Alena, set the table!”
“Mom, what kind of feast?” my husband intervened. “We just moved in, let us settle first.”
“We have to celebrate the new apartment! Are you really going to turn away your own mother?”
“All right, come in. But no longer than half an hour — we still have lots to do.”
I heard this conversation and grimaced inwardly because I absolutely did not plan on tea parties or idle chatter. I wanted my mother-in-law to leave as soon as possible so we could settle peacefully in our new home, but I had to politely agree to the housewarming idea.
“Kiryusha! Come eat some sweets, grandma brought them!” my mother-in-law called my son.
“Galina Petrovna, next time please give sweets to us first — Kiryusha shouldn’t have too many,” I asked.
“Why’s that?”
“You see for yourself that Kiryusha is overweight. We’re slowly weaning him off sweets; it’s bad for his health.”
“Oh my God, one candy won’t hurt him! I didn’t know you were so strict and heartless. Denying a child a treat!”
“Please understand, he always eats a huge amount of sweets. We bought him a jar of chocolate cream, and he emptied it in minutes! His teeth will decay and hurt later. I worry about his health!”
At that moment, Kiryusha appeared, and ignoring my words, Galina Petrovna handed him a whole bag and told him to go to his room and eat every last candy immediately.
That incident infuriated me, but I kept quiet. One candy really wouldn’t hurt. Although there were about twenty candies in that bag, and that was a different story. Nevertheless, a few minutes later, I quietly slipped into Kiryusha’s room and carefully took away the remaining sweets, gently explaining to my son that from now on I would give him one candy at a time. Naturally, he was offended but stayed silent.
Maybe I was too strict, but I was trying for the child’s sake. He was little and didn’t understand how cruel other kids and adults could be. I tried to protect him. But my mother-in-law seemed intent on turning her grandson into a spoiled child.
Moreover, Galina Petrovna suddenly became more active after our move. She started showing up several times a week, driving me crazy. And it was all because my husband, for some reason, gave her a duplicate set of keys.
“You never know what trouble might happen! And I can come to help you anytime,” she explained.
Of course, I couldn’t imagine what kind of emergency might require Galina Petrovna’s urgent help, but I couldn’t change the situation anymore. The fact remained.
“Alena, did you forget about the dish in the oven?” my mother-in-law asked.
“No, Galina Petrovna. Everything is under control, 20 minutes left.”
“Only that much left? I think it should be much less.”
“Galina Petrovna, the situation is under control.”
Even though I fully controlled the cooking process, my mother-in-law did things her way anyway.
“Why did you take out the baking tray? It’s not ready yet,” I protested.
“I already checked, it’s perfectly cooked. If you overcook it, the taste will suffer — I have more experience in this matter.”
“Galina Petrovna, with all due respect, I know the recipe perfectly. It needs at least 10 more minutes.”
“You think you can teach me cooking? You’re inexperienced, know little about life — better listen to me! And don’t you dare argue.”
No matter what I did — it caused criticism. I cooked wrong, cleaned poorly, washed clothes “incorrectly.” For my mother-in-law, everything was wrong. Criticism rained down every time she crossed our doorstep. On top of that, she regularly came before my husband and I returned home. It seemed her only activity was to put her own order in our apartment.
She regularly baked huge batches of golden buns with filling for Kiryusha, half of which my son devoured immediately. Of course, I had no objections to treats per se, but I repeatedly and delicately asked my mother-in-law not to overfeed the child with such food. However, my requests were always ignored.
“Toša, can you give me a ride to the shopping district after work tomorrow?” I asked my husband. “I need to pick up some costumes from a client, and I can’t carry them all myself.”
“Tomorrow it will be hard for me to get away from work.”
“Toša, please, I can’t manage without your help. It’ll take no more than half an hour.”
“Alena, no need to distract my boy from his professional duties. You’re perfectly capable; you can manage on your own,” my mother-in-law intervened.
“Galina Petrovna, let us decide what’s most convenient ourselves.”
“I care about my son. He’ll just waste precious time on your whims. He already told you he can’t.”
“He never said that. Anton, can you help me?”
“I’m not sure yet,” my husband mumbled.
“But I really need your support! Or please pay for transport so someone can help me.”
“Wow, the girl has really made demands! Now a ride there and back, now taxi fare. Are you even capable of doing anything yourself?”
“Anton?!” I looked at my husband expecting a reaction.
He was silent, avoiding my gaze.
“Fine, I’ll deal with all problems myself.”
Galina Petrovna pathologically loved to butt into our conversations and voice her “valuable” opinion. It seemed she deliberately provoked conflicts between us. This tactic extended to purchase matters, for example, when we needed to replace the washing machine. Ours broke down, and suddenly my mother-in-law suggested buying a cheap second-hand model. I firmly refused, since used appliances likely would break, and it made more sense to invest in a new one. She persistently tried to convince me to listen to her advice, but I managed to hold my ground.
Her behavior irritated me more and more. But one incident finally broke me, and I couldn’t keep calm anymore.
Coming home, I immediately noticed Galina Petrovna’s presence. The smell of fried potatoes spread throughout the apartment as soon as I stepped in.
“Did you throw away the lunch I specially made for my son?!” I was outraged when I found the contents of the containers in the trash bin.
“Why do you feed my heir with nonsense? He’s a future man! Let him enjoy real potatoes.”
“Galina Petrovna, how many times must I repeat that Kiryusha must not consume excessive fatty and sweet food! And you even gave him a cake! This crosses all boundaries. Look at how much butter is in your dish.”
“What are you stirring up again? All this is perfectly healthy for my grandson, let him eat properly, not your diet nonsense.”
“That’s called a balanced diet, Galina Petrovna. I cook all this for my own child not so you could ruin it later!”
“So now I’m the guilty one? Alenochka, watch your tone! I’m a grandmother and much older than you; I know better what my grandson needs!”
“I see you think you know everything better than others!”
“Of course, how else?”
“Enough! This is the last straw!”
I went to the bedroom to collect my thoughts. I couldn’t tolerate my mother-in-law’s constant presence and categorical ignoring of my requests any longer.
A couple of days later, there was a call from Galina Petrovna. I was home and suddenly heard someone persistently trying to unlock our apartment door.
“Alena, I somehow can’t get into your apartment, the key won’t turn at all,” my mother-in-law complained. “Call a specialist immediately.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t help you, Galina Petrovna,” I said with barely concealed satisfaction.
“What news is that?!”
“I changed the locks, so your keys won’t work,” I told my mother-in-law.
“What have you done?! You heartless person!”
“This is so you no longer come to us without prior arrangement, dear mother-in-law.”
“Let me in immediately! I know perfectly well you’re home!”
“I’ll tell Anton everything!” Galina Petrovna raged.
“Do as you see fit. I don’t care in the least.”
I ended the call, inwardly rejoicing at my mother-in-law’s reaction. She kept shouting something at the door, but I didn’t even plan to get out of bed to let her in.
That evening, when Anton came home from work, his mother called him. I didn’t need speakerphone to guess the topic of the conversation.
“Mom, this has gone beyond all acceptable limits… Yes, we really changed the locks, and I fully support this decision… No, you’re certainly important to me, but you’ve been visiting us way too often. You literally exhausted Alena with your constant complaints and remarks. Plus, you feed our boy inappropriate foods even though Alena repeatedly asked you not to… Mom, please stop raising your voice. Just accept the fact that if you want to visit us, you must arrange it in advance, not come whenever you please.”
Judging by how quickly the conversation between my husband and mother ended, I realized that she fell into extreme indignation and categorically rejected the changes.
“Well, what’s the outcome?” I asked my husband.
“She was offended by our actions with the locks,” Anton stated.
“You do realize we did the right thing? Your mother had no right to act that way. Every visit came with lectures and self-will.”
“Of course, I understand. What upset me most was how she fed our son despite our joint decision to improve his health. She shouldn’t have ignored our parenting rules.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
After that episode, my mother-in-law ceased all contact with us. Anton tried to reach her by phone and messages, but she either ignored him or replied sharply and coldly. On the one hand, I sincerely worried about my husband and his relationship with his mother, but on the other, I clearly realized the inevitability of such an outcome. Anton understood it too. Now we finally had the opportunity to calmly build our own life and make decisions without outside interference.
