It’s a short work day for me today because Alan and I are taking care of my ailing Mother-in-law. No one was available to take her to the doctor so I am pitching in.. I’ve asked to leave work at 2PM so I can go fetch her at my Sister-in-law’s house where we will take a cab to the doctor together. She just had another episode the previous weekend prior to the last one, and we’ve been doing the rounds of the doctors to try and figure out what’s happening to the poor woman. They haven’t exactly given us an answer yet so Alan is adamant that one of us go with her whenever she has an appointment to be sure we get the message straight from the doctor.
My mother-in-law’s nonchallance about it doesn’t help. She missed a doctor’s appointment the clinic confirmed with my sister-in-law last week and she feels it is uncalled for for us to bother ourselves with being conscientious about her well-being.
I’m just trying to be a good daughter-in-law. Alan says she resists it because she never got this kind of attention from an in-law, considering she even hesitates to ask my brother-in-law to drive for her on occasion. I feel like it’s not even an overindulgence for her to have me take part of the workday off — not just for Alan’s peace of mind, but because she is family to me.
It’s really not a big deal. And yes, she is MY mother-in-law, so why not?
Pinay New Yorker 