The task of looking after mother-in-law

In China it is a tradition that the elderly parents live with their children. My mother-in-law is 92 and she usually lives with my sister-in-law. However about 10 days ago my sister-in-law had a car accident and broke a rib. So my husband fetched his mother from his hometown. It’s now my responsibility to look after her as my husband is busy working all day. I cooked special meals for her because her teeth were gone and I bought clothes for her as autumn has come and the temperatures became low. Also I taught her how to use the romote control to turn on TV. Anyway I did my best to look after her. Nevertheless my mother-in-law is not satisfied. She said she was going to take the train to go back to the hometown because she was bored all day. We asked her how you were able to look after yourself. She said she was going to hire a maid. My husband said we could not afford a maid as we are on a mortgage.

So it is a dilemma for us.

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I’m so sorry. Hopefully things will smooth themselves out over time. 92 is an amazing age to live to! Your mother in law must be extremely healthy.

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yes, she is very healthy with good ears and eyes. Also her spine and neck look straight. Her hair looks black with very little grey hairs. She might be able to live to a hundred.

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Hope things work out for you and your mom @green5.

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I wish I had the perfect advice to help you, but I don’t. I hope it all works out. You did a good job at taking care of her. Maybe the issue is that she wants to remain independent, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I hope it all works out in a way that benefits everyone.

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Sometimes life puts us in tough situations. Good luck

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I talked more to my MIL, she does want to have a bit of independence. Also she has forgotten to bring enough meds with her. A friend told us that my MIL could hire a casual houseworker that charges hourly, which is less expensive that hiring a fulltime housemaid. Anyway, my MIL said she felt welcomed by wjhat I have done for her and she would come to my place next time.

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That’s great! All good news :slight_smile:

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I think it’s commendable that you took care of your MIL for a while. That mustn’t have been easy.

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