前回の話の続き。リエは夫ツヨシと子供のサクラとハルトと暮らしていた。夫は優しい人だが、義母との関係が上手くいかず、義母は厳しい態度を取る。義父が亡くなり、義母の日常生活が困難になる中、夫は毎日義母を支えようとしていた。しかし、その疲れが溜まり、剛が別居を提案する。リエとツヨシは意見を一致させ、別居することを決める。剛の支えが欠かせなかったが、夫婦の幸せを考え、別居を選んだ。
Continuing from last time. I (Rie) was living with my husband (Tsuyoshi) and two children (Sakura and Haruto). Tsuyoshi is very kind, so I have never seen him angry. On the other hand, my relationship with my mother-in-law has not been smooth since the beginning of our marriage. My mother-in-law is strict not only towards me but also towards the children. Tsuyoshi seemed to be desperately trying to hold both his parents and our family together. In the midst of this, my father-in-law passed away. My mother-in-law has weak legs and it is difficult for her to live alone. I couldn’t help but feel anxious about what would happen if we continued to live together…
I know Tsuyoshi is a very kind person. The daily routine of going to the in-laws’ house after work to support my mother-in-law, coming home late at night and going back to work in the morning is exhausting. However, considering the relationship between my mother-in-law and me, it was not realistic for me to go in Tsuyoshi’s place… so I decided to leave it to Tsuyoshi for a while and see how things go. And so, the days of Tsuyoshi supporting my mother-in-law began.
Tsuyoshi leaves home in the morning and heads to the in-laws’ house after work. He delivers the groceries that my mother-in-law had asked for beforehand, helps with household chores, has dinner together, watches over my mother-in-law as she sleeps, and then returns home. Sometimes he comes back home in the middle of the night. Looking at the exhausted Tsuyoshi, I feel like I should also help her. The thought of “cohabitation” crossed my mind occasionally. However, considering the relationship between my mother-in-law and me, that would be difficult.
It seems like Tsuyoshi tried his best not to cause us any trouble. I worked hard to support my mother-in-law in her daily life. However, it was clear that the exhaustion was building up day by day. I didn’t think this situation would last long, but I was not directly able to help. When Tsuyoshi came home, all I could do was provide him with nutritious meals and make sure he rested well. Eventually, Tsuyoshi proposed living separately. Considering my mother-in-law’s personality and our lifestyle, my husband and I agreed that it was a reasonable compromise, and we decided to live separately.
Next, [Episode 3].
Original concept: Mama Star Community Script: Wakabayashi Tae Illustrations: Nekota Kayo Prints: Ii Teruko