When I visited my son-in-law’s house, I saw my mother-in-law working like a maid, while my daughter sat in the shade, eating all kinds of snacks, and even said something extremely embarrassing to me…

That day, I went to Gurugram (Delhi NCR) to visit my daughter and her husband. Before leaving, she told me:

“You just rest, when we get there, my mother-in-law will take care of everything, she is very capable…”

Hearing that, I felt reassured, and secretly happy for my daughter to have a good husband. But when I stepped into the apartment door in the DLF area, I almost didn’t recognize my mother-in-law — her hair was messy, she was carrying a heavy garbage bag, her sari was stained with the smell of food. Inside, my daughter Ananya was sitting on the sofa, holding a cold falooda, her feet propped up on the table like a queen, laughing and chatting with her friends on the phone.

I thought I had entered the wrong house.

I asked softly:

“Oh, is your mother-in-law not home?”

She turned around, nonchalantly:
“I’m cooking, what are you asking? She said she’s retired and bored in the countryside, so Rohit (my husband) asked her to come live with me and look after the house!”

I was stunned.

“My mother-in-law cooks? And you…?”

She calmly said:
“I work all day, I’m tired. Besides, I cooked badly, so my mother-in-law wouldn’t let me touch the kitchen. It’s convenient!”

At that moment, Alka-ji (my daughter’s mother-in-law) walked out of the kitchen, sweating profusely, holding a pot of boiling dal, her mouth still smiling tiredly:

“Please sit down, I’m done cooking, you should eat now.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I rushed straight to the kitchen, pushed the tray of food aside, and asked directly:…
“Tell me the truth, are you here voluntarily or are you forced? Why do you look like… a maid?”

The mother-in-law was trembling, and before I could say anything, my phone rang. The neighbor in the block called:

“Sister, are you at Ananya’s house? I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time but I was afraid you’d be sad. Her mother-in-law comes to look after the house, it’s not a happy time. Going to D-Mart, she buys dozens of bags, washes the car, looks after the kids, mops the floor, cooks. At night, she sleeps in the storage room next to the balcony. When it’s too cold, I even bring an old blanket over… I feel sorry for her!”

I was stunned. Turning around, the mother-in-law quietly lowered her head, tears falling into the steaming tray of food.

“I… don’t want to bother my children. They told me to come, I thought I was still healthy, if I could do it, I would help… But now I want to take a day off… it’s hard.”

My daughter saw me looking and quickly defended herself:

“Mom… don’t listen to the neighbors’ nonsense. My mother-in-law volunteered…”

I sighed, pulled a chair and sat down next to Mrs. Alka-ji, holding her hand tightly:

“From tomorrow, you don’t need to stay here anymore. Go back to the countryside and rest with me. How could a child let an old mother become a servant?”

The next day, Mrs. Alka-ji really packed up and left that house, leaving both Ananya and Rohit bewildered.

As for me, I didn’t say a word, only leaving a piece of paper on the living room table:

“As parents, no one spares any effort. But with children like this, living any longer will only make you sad.”