My mother-in-law came to my house for a whole month just to take care of her daughter after giving birth. I tactfully told her to go back to the countryside so that my grandmother could come and take care of me so that I could be more comfortable, but she said “my daughter’s house”.

Since the day my wife gave birth, my mother-in-law packed up and moved in with me to take care of my daughter. At first, I was touched, thinking that she loved her children and grandchildren. But gradually, everything in the house seemed to be turned upside down. When I came home from work, I no longer felt free, every meal was scrutinized, and in the evening, when I wanted to sit with my wife, I had to avoid her eyes.

I tactfully said:
“Mom, why don’t you go home and rest for a few days, so grandma can come up and take care of the baby more conveniently.”

But she immediately replied calmly:
“I’m staying at my daughter’s house. Whoever wants to take care of her can come here, I’m not going anywhere.”

The answer made me feel hot. I was so angry that the next day I took my mother-in-law back to her hometown. She sat still, didn’t react, just looked at me with a strange look. I thought that was it, and felt relieved because I would soon have my own space again.

But… just the next day, while I was working at the company, the phone rang continuously. I picked up the phone, and my ears rang when I heard the news:  my wife at home suddenly had a seizure, fainted, and the doctor diagnosed her with late postpartum hemorrhage .

I rushed home and hugged my wife on the hospital bed. In a panic, I was stunned when the doctor said:
“If we had been any later, it would have been critical. Luckily, this morning an elderly person informed me and called an ambulance to take the mother to the emergency room in time.”

I was stunned and quickly asked who had saved my wife. The nurse pointed to the door, and I was stunned:  it was my mother-in-law . It turned out that after the day I forced her to go home, she had quietly returned early in the morning, intending to pack her things quietly and leave. But when she was about to leave, she saw her daughter showing signs of abnormality, so she rushed to call an ambulance.

At that moment, I choked up. The person I was upset with and wanted to chase away… was the person who had just saved my wife’s life.

And what made me fall to my knees: a medical report fell out of her pocket. She was carrying a tumor, the doctor told her to rest completely, yet she still tried to stay and take care of her daughter until the end…

I trembled as I held the medical report, my eyes blurred. The words “malignant tumor, need close monitoring” were like a knife stabbing straight into my heart. I looked up and saw my mother-in-law sitting in the hospital hallway, her hair gray, her face haggard, but she still tried to smile when she saw that her daughter had overcome the critical condition.

I walked closer, knelt down in front of her, my throat choked:
– “Mom… I’m sorry. I’m so mean, I…”

She put her skinny hand on my shoulder and shook her head:
“You are just a man, it is understandable that you want your own space. But men need to remember, this house is not just yours, nor just your wife and children’s. It is a place where parents, husband and wife, and children depend on each other. Sometimes, because of love for their children, a mother has to sacrifice her health, as long as her daughter and grandchildren are safe.”

I burst into tears like a child. All the resentment, the discomfort, the prying looks I had thought about her… disappeared in an instant. Instead, there was immense sorrow.

My wife woke up, saw my mother and me holding hands, her eyes red, she burst into tears. The three of us hugged each other, tears falling down as if washing away all the misunderstandings.

Afterward…

I asked for a long leave from work to take care of my wife and help my mother. She still insisted on staying, but I didn’t dare leave her alone anymore. I cooked, washed dishes, and did the laundry, and she only helped with the light chores.

Every time I helped her stand up, I saw her breathing softly and her hands shaking. I remembered the medical report and my heart ached. I discussed with my wife:
“We have to take my mother for treatment. She has been worried about me for so many years, it’s time for me to take care of her.”

Wife nodded, eyes wet.

The day my mother-in-law was hospitalized for treatment, I held her hand tightly:
“Don’t worry, from now on I will consider you as my real mother. You have taught me the greatest lesson in life: to be grateful and cherish what I have.”

She smiled, her eyes shining with simple happiness:
“As long as you love your wife and children, love your grandchildren, then for me… that’s enough.”

Conclusion

From this story, I realized that there are people who we think are burdens, but are actually the strongest support in our lives.
There are presences that make us feel uncomfortable, until the day we realize that without them, our whole world will collapse.

And from that day on, I no longer called her “mother-in-law”. To me, she was Mom – the one who sacrificed everything, including her health, to keep this family intact.