新婚夫婦のヒトミとテツヤは同居生活を始めることにしたが、義母との関係が次第に悪化していく。義母の干渉や嫌味に耐えかねたヒトミは夫に相談するも、夫は義母を責めるばかりで解決には至らない。ヒトミは徐々に疲れを感じ、息子には感謝しつつも、義母との関係に疎ましさを感じ始める。同居から逃げるのは難しい状況で、ヒトミは自分の過ちを後悔し、未来に希望を見い出せないでいた。【続く】
Continuing from last time. I (Hitomi) and my husband Tetsuya are newlyweds. In the area where my husband lives, it is not uncommon for the eldest son to live with his parents. With various conditions, I decided to start living together with my husband and my in-laws, the four of us. At first, my relationship with my mother-in-law was good, and I thought we could live with a reasonable distance between us. However, my mother-in-law kept getting closer by saying things like “Let me teach you how to cook!” or “Help with the garden work!” I started trying to clearly set boundaries with my mother-in-law. But she did not find this amusing, and she increased her interference with me. When I would confide in my husband about the snide remarks made by my mother-in-law, my husband would blame his mother… This negative cycle continued, and I started to feel more and more tired.
The relationship between my mother-in-law and me became increasingly strained.
Even just going to make coffee during a short break, I would be asked to run errands, and if I declined, I would be scolded, which would often make me lose my temper.
“Mom! I’ve told you before, don’t ask Hitomi to do things during the day! Asking her to do something every break makes her feel like she hasn’t rested, right?” Tetsuya, whenever I confide in him about my mother-in-law, immediately steps in to try and mend our relationship.
Throughout my life, I had never had a fight with anyone, and I thought I had lived fairly peacefully. And yet… gradually, the very existence of “mother-in-law” had become distasteful to me. Certainly, I am full of gratitude towards Tetsuya, who always prioritizes me and protects me. However, my mother-in-law would not appreciate that, and it would not be amusing for a son to constantly defend his wife. However, living with “strangers” in the same house, in a situation with no escape, I didn’t know what more I could do to persevere. One night, I decided to speak up to my husband before going to bed. “Living together… can’t we stop?”
It was too late to regret now. Before starting to live together, I should have thought more carefully. I had been too overconfident in my gentle nature, lack of conflicts with others, thinking I could manage. I realized that I had just been adjusting my environment to live peacefully. Even if the relationship with my mother-in-law became awkward, it was difficult to put distance between us or to cut ties while living in the same house. As I lived through those days, even the idea of “mother-in-law” became unbearable to me. However, I also understood my husband’s feelings. Since he had paid for all the renovation costs, it was not easy to simply say, “I want to live separately.” Even so, I could not find any hope in continuing to live with my mother-in-law feeling negatively towards her.
Continued in episode 6.
Original Concept: MamaStar Community, Script: Watanabe Tae, Artwork: Yoshida, Editing: Ishii Yayoi