Dear Queenie,
My daughter has a serious medical condition. She is being treated for it, but her treatments leave her tired out and she can’t do much housework or take much care of the children, especially on treatment days. In the beginning her husband would help out a lot, but as time goes on he does less and less and leaves more and more for her to do.
I tried to talk to him about this, but he got mad and said I don’t care about him, only about my daughter, and I’m lucky he even lets me in their house.
Queenie, I’m worried about my daughter. She is not going to get better if she is exhausted all the time. I try to help out, but there is only just so much I can do for her. What more can I do?—Worried mother
Dear Mother,
I am sure your son-in-law is as worried about his wife as you are. However, there is also just so much he can do for her, especially if he also has a job, even just a part-time one.
Can you afford to hire someone to help out around their house, even just part-time and/or occasionally? If your son-in-law has a job, could he afford to help with the cost?
At the very least, avoid quarrelling, or even just arguing, with your son-in-law, which just causes stress for your daughter, which is the last thing she needs on top of her other problems.
