[Katclub]

Since my initial response to this MIL thread, a lot has changed. Shortly after my response (I believe it was April of 2008) my husband was diagnosed with cancer. He is doing quite well now, but for nearly a year it was pretty rough. During his illness, his mother would often ask me if there was anything she could do. While I greatly appreciated the offer, there really was little she could do - she is 70 years old, and a bit weak. Husband's care required a lot of running around, preparing food, bathing...you get the picture. Anyway, I didn't feel she could really handle the physical aspect. She offered to prepare food, but what he felt like eating was always a last minute decisuon based on his appetine.

My house was a mess. I would empty the dishwasher and completely fill it up again - and still have dirty dishes in the sink. I made sure to have the house clean so as not to contribute to any infections hubby may get. One day I asked MIL if she would help me clean the house, do the dishes, etc. Her response: "Oh yeah, right" like it was a joke or something.

She did, however, tell me she wanted to prepare Thanksgiving dinner at my house, so hubby didn't have to travel the 15 miles to her home (he had radical surgery two weeks prior to Thanksgiving). She told me it was to allow me a day off from cooking and doing household things. Well, she brought over the salmon (we don't do turkey), but I wound-up doing all the cooking, preparing, and after dinner clean up.

I really do adore my MIL, but sometines it seems as though she is not as sincere as she portrays. Guess I'll take it as a lesson to be learned.